7 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Sentencing" AND cat:"Conspiracy"'.
Per curiam, the circuit finds the district court improperly sentenced one defendant in these consolidated cases. Defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute meth. Though one admitted he was responsible for between 350 to 500 grams of the drug, the other admitted to 200 to 350 grams for his part. Both received a statutory minimum sentence of 120 months. The defendant who admitted to the lesser amount acknowledged that “the overall scope involved 500 grams or more...” but he never admitted to knowing the conspiracy involved such a quantity. His stipulation fails to sustain applicability of the statutory minimum. Vacated in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 7, 2024, Case #: 23-30397, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, conspiracy
J. Ripple finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of conspiracy to distribute meth after denying his request for substitute counsel and sentenced him to 324 months in prison. Defendant made his request for substitute counsel on the day before sentencing, which was untimely, and though he disagreed with his counsel's strategy, there was no breakdown in communication between the two. Further, defendant's below-guidelines sentence was not unreasonable. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Ripple, Filed On: July 11, 2024, Case #: 23-2472, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, conspiracy
J. Ripple finds that the lower court properly convicted defendants of conspiracy to distribute illegal drugs. The government is not required to proceed to trial on all charges of the conspiracy named in the indictment, but may elect to proceed on a subset of the allegations in the indictment and prove a conspiracy smaller than the one originally alleged. Further, the court properly sentenced defendants to a substantial, though below-guidelines sentence, including firearms enhancements. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Ripple, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 22-2060, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, conspiracy
J. Floyd finds the lower court improperly opted not to lower the defendant's sentence under the First Step Act. The court originally sentenced the defendant in 1996 to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment on a continuing criminal conspiracy count and a federal crack cocaine offense. The defendant is worthy of a time education because he has displayed good conduct, is unlikely to commit crimes, spent half his life in prison and other co-defendants have received sentence reductions. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Floyd, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 22-6748, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, conspiracy
J. Harris finds the lower court improperly calculated its sentencing guidelines range when sentencing the defendant to 80 years in prison. The defendant was involved in a large-scale conspiracy to transport and sell drugs – primarily methamphetamine, but also heroin, cocaine, and crack – across Ohio and West Virginia. Police seized nearly three kilograms of meth from another drug trafficker who bought from the same seller as the defendant and attributed the amount to the defendant when calculating his sentence despite no evidence of the defendant and that drug trafficker being connected. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Harris, Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 21-4181, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, conspiracy
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[Consolidated]. J. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced two defendants for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of meth. The co- conspirator defendants argued that their enhanced sentences are unreasonable. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the first defendant acted as an organizer engaging in criminal activity by transporting 10 pounds of meth, and that the second female defendant sold the drugs to an undercover informant. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: 22-3333, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, conspiracy
J. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 290 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute meth and conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute meth. The defendant drug courier argued that an undercover DEA special agent engaged in entrapment by setting up a controlled buy. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the special agent had not persuaded him into selling the drugs. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: 23-1156, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, conspiracy