Court Opinion

ID: 9491343
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:11:39.17265+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:54:40.985741
License: Public Domain

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge,
concurring separately.
I concur but add the following observations.
The quantity of drugs attributed to Ortega appears very imprecise. The government has the burden of proof on this issue. On remand, the trial court should consider whether Ortega’s statement regarding drug quantities should be rejected as mere “puffing” to impress the government agent with an exaggerated assertion that Ortega was a high-level dealer who possessed the capacity to inform on low-level dealers and thereby receive a lesser sentence. Unfortunately, that is the way sentences are often imposed under the Guidelines. See United States v. Griffin, 17 F.3d 269, 274 (8th Cir.1994) (Bright, J., dissenting); United States v. Jones, 145 F.3d 959, 965-67 (8th Cir.1998) (Bright, J., dissenting).
The government’s contention that Ortega qualifies for a mandatory life sentence seems to border on the frivolous. See majority opinion at 946-47. In my view, after reviewing the record, the government’s effort to obtain a mandatory life sentence lacks any substantial merit.