Court Opinion

ID: 9496624
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:31:08.321196+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:41.491315
License: Public Domain

HEANEY, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I am troubled by the fact that the district court used a drug quantity at sentencing fifty times larger than the jury’s verdict. Notwithstanding considerable evidence as to the substantial quantity of methamphetamine involved in this conspiracy, the jury specifically found that Johnston was responsible for distributing less than fifty grams. Under these circumstances, it is my feeling that the district court should not be permitted to ignore the jury’s conclusion. The district court, because of its ability to base its drug determination on a preponderance of the evidence, has considerable discretion in sentencing, and the power to impose a harsher sentence than a jury would on the same facts. By allowing the district court to base drug quantity determinations using this lower level of proof, I believe the stated goal of the Sentencing Guidelines— to promote uniformity in sentencing — is undermined.