09-1479 U.S. v. Araujo

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Sentencing
Drug quantity; proffer

Where the defendant contradicted the amount of heroin he admitted distributing in his proffer, the proffer is admissible at sentencing.

“This is not a case, like United States v. Farmer, 543 F.3d 363 (7th Cir. 2008), in which the prosecution cited the defendant’s proffer in support of the version of the offense it submitted to the probation officer, before a presentence report had been prepared and thus before the defendant pursued an objection that was inconsistent with the proffer. Id. at 373-74. When the government submitted its version of Araujo’s offense to the probation officer, it said nothing of the proffer and instead relied on evidence wholly independent of Araujo’s admission in the proffer (and his similar admission in the plea agreement) for the proposition that he was responsible for 30 or more kilograms of heroin. For her part, the probation officer relied on the plea agreement’s factual basis in arriving at the quantity of 30 or more kilograms. Araujo, in objecting to that quantity, anticipated that the government might rely on his proffer and contended that it would be inappropriate for the government to do so. But it was only after Araujo contested the propriety of the 30-plus kilogram drug amount that the government actually cited and relied on his proffer statement. This was appropriate and consistent with the terms of the proffer.”

Affirmed.

09-1479 U.S. v. Araujo

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Guzmán, J., Rovner, J.

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