Opinion ID: 2998530
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ripoll’s Credibility

Text: Ortiz argues that we should find Ripoll’s testimony incredible as a matter of law. Although we conclude in this opinion that the district court clearly erred by its relevant conduct finding, we decline to take the additional leap of finding Ripoll incredible as a matter of law. We review a district court’s witness credibility determinations for clear error. United States v. Noble, 246 F.3d 946, 953 (7th Cir. 2001). We have held that determinations of witness credibility are entitled to great deference and “can virtually never be clear error.” United States v. Blalock, 321 F.3d 686, 690 (7th Cir. 2003) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). See also United States v. Ferguson, 35 F.3d 327, 333 (7th Cir. 1994) (“The district court’s evaluation of witness credibility will not be disturbed unless it is completely without foundation.”); United States v. Porter, 23 F.3d 1274, 1278 (7th Cir. 1994) (“Any argument that the trial judge should have disbelieved a certain witness is doomed at the outset.”) We give such a high-level of deference to such findings of credibility because “[t]he trial judge has the best opportunity to observe the verbal and nonverbal behavior of the witnesses focusing on the subject’s reactions and responses to the interrogatories, their facial expressions, attitudes, tone of voice, eye contact, posture and body movements, as well as confused or nervous speech patterns in contrast with merely looking at the cold pages of an appellate record.” United States v. Eddy, 8 F.3d 577, 582-83 (7th Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). A credibility determination by a district court using the preponderance standard cannot be challenged on appeal “unless the court credited testimony that was essentially unbelievable as a matter of law.” United States v. Smith, 308 F.3d 726, 746 (7th Cir. 2002). In order for testimony to be found incredible as a matter of law, “ ‘it must have been either physically impossible for the witness to observe that which he or she claims occurred, or impossi- 6 No. 03-1471 ble under the laws of nature for the occurrence to have taken place at all.’ ” United States v. McEntire, 153 F.3d 424, 435 (7th Cir. 1998) (quoting United States v. Dunigan, 884 F.2d 1149, 1152 (7th Cir. 1990)). Ortiz argues that Ripoll’s testimony is incredible because of some inconsistencies of Ripoll’s testimony. Ripoll testified initially that he saw Ortiz make one purchase of cocaine from Zambrana in 1997. The next purchase Ripoll observed was over a year later in the summer of 1998. Then, after a gap of a couple of months, Ripoll saw Ortiz thereafter purchase from Zambrana weekly, or every two or three weeks. However, later in Ortiz’s testimony he said that he saw Ortiz purchase cocaine from Zambrana weekly. Ortiz also argues that, according to the presentence report, Ortiz initially told the DEA that Ortiz had purchased 15 kilograms of cocaine; however, while testifying, this number mushroomed to 100 kilograms. Although this testimony is troubling, it does not meet the standard mandating that we deem it incredible as a matter of law, and we decline to second-guess the credibility findings of the trial judge, who had the opportunity to observe Ripoll firsthand. As we have held, when making a credibility determination, the sentencing court, “may credit testimony that is ‘totally uncorroborated and comes from an admitted liar, convicted felon, or large scale drug-dealing, paid government informant.’ ” United States v. White, 360 F.3d 718, 720 (7th Cir. 2004) (quoting Blalock, 321 F.3d at 690).