08-3373 U.S. v. Rosenberg

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Sentencing
Relevant conduct

In sentencing a defendant for illegally prescribing controlled substances, although the court must make factually findings as to each patient to include the amounts prescribed to him as relevant conduct, the court need not address each prescription.

"Although the government did not systematically address every prescription Rosenberg wrote to the four patients, it presented ample evidence to prove that the prescriptions had no legitimate medical purpose and were written outside the usual course of appropriate medical practice. In fact, the prescriptions Rosenberg wrote to those four patients were the primary focus of a two-day sentencing hearing. The government's expert witness, Mary Jo Willis, a retired professor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing, discussed Rosenberg's interactions with all four of the patients in question. She pointed out Rosenberg's failings with each, things like not getting an adequate patient history or conducting a proper examination. Rosenberg also testified about the reasons she prescribed the medication to the four patients. Afterward, Willis reiterated her opinion that Rosenberg had written all of the prescriptions outside the usual course of medical practice. The comprehensive testimony given by Willis provided sufficient evidence for the district court to conclude that the prescriptions written to the four patients were out of bounds and thus includable as relevant conduct."

Affirmed.

08-3373 U.S. v. Rosenberg

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Crabb, J., Evans, J.

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