Opinion ID: 160866
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Effect of Apprendi

Text: 32 In Apprendi, the Supreme Court held that [o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Apprendi, 120 S. Ct. at 2362-63. We have not yet ruled on whether Apprendi extends to sentencing guideline factors. Mr. Sullivan concedes that the law in this circuit currently states that sentencing guideline factors need not be alleged in the indictment or found by the jury. See United States v. Frederick, 897 F.2d 490, 491-93 (10th Cir. 1990). Other circuits have held that Apprendi does not apply to sentencing factors that increase a defendant's guideline range but do not increase the statutory maximum. See Lewis, 235 F.3d at 217; United States v. Hernandez-Guardado, 228 F.3d 1017 (9th Cir.2000); United States v. Corrado, 227 F.3d 528 (6th Cir. 2000); United States v. Meshack, 225 F.3d 556 (5th Cir. 2000), petition for cert. filed, (U.S. Nov. 26, 2000) (No. 00-7246); United States v. Aguayo-Delgado, 220 F.3d 926 (8th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, --U.S.--, 121 S.Ct. 600, 148 (2000). We agree with those circuits. Since the tax loss calculation and two-level increase for sophisticated concealment did not increase Mr. Sullivan's sentence beyond the statutory maximum of 12 months for each count of failure to file, his sentence does not run afoul of the rule in Apprendi.