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Sentencing — controlled substances — relevant conduct

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//January 20, 2012//

Sentencing — controlled substances — relevant conduct

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//January 20, 2012//

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Sentencing — controlled substances — relevant conduct

The district court did not err in using a conspirator’s average estimates of drugs sold in calculating relevant conduct at sentencing.

“Sutton’s average is itself evidence of how the sales were distributed; namely, 1.5 ounces per day. If Sutton had testified that he sold 36 kilograms over three years, we could not assume that he sold 10 kilograms in a given ten-month period. The total quantity and the total time period do not, without more, indicate the distribution. But that’s not what happened. Sutton testified that he sold an average of 1.5 ounces per day over two or three years. This evidence does not raise the problem at issue in Lawrence. Sutton’s testimony about a daily amount indicates that the sales were relatively evenly distributed, allowing the district court to extrapolate the per-day amount to a larger period of time. Accordingly, the court’s drug calculations were supported by reliable evidence.”

Affirmed.

10-2872 & 10-3079 U.S. v. Longstreet

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Kennelly, J., Sykes, J.

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