US v. Gonzalez-Velez

Filing 920091125

Opinion

var gAgent = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase()
var gWindows = ( (gAgent.indexOf( "win" ) != -1 ) || ( gAgent.indexOf( "16bit" ) != -1 ) )
var gIE = ( gAgent.indexOf( "msie" ) != -1 )
var bInlineFloats = ( gWindows && gIE && ( parseInt( navigator.appVersion ) >= 4 ) )
var floatwnd = 0

var WPFootnote1 = 'González-Vélez also challenged his conviction on the ground that\
there was insufficient evidence of his participation in the\
conspiracy. We rejected this argument, noting that there was\
abundant evidence in the record of González-Vélez\'s participation\
in the conspiracy. Id. at 37-38.\
'

var WPFootnote2 = 'The recording itself was also part of the record before the\
sentencing court.\
'

var WPFootnote3 = 'González-Vélez submitted a second sentencing memorandum on\
May 22, 2007 that expanded on the facts presented in the first memo\
and provided additional legal arguments.\
'

var WPFootnote4 = 'González-Vélez makes two additional arguments, neither of which\
merits serious consideration.\
\
              First, he argues that the district court violated 18 U.S.C.\
§ 3553(c)(1) by failing to explain why it chose a BOL of 32. \
However, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(1) does not require the court to\
explain why it chose an offense level. Rather, once a court has\
determined a GSR based on the offense level, if the sentence range\
exceeds 24 months, § 3553(c)(1) requires the court to explain why\
it chose a particular sentence. Thus, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(1) does\
not come into play until after a decision is made on the\
appropriate offense level.\
\
              Second, González-Vélez argues that the district court\
committed a "technical violation" by not stating in Section IV(B)\
of the Statement of Reasons why it chose to impose a sentence in\
the middle of the guideline range, and that this violation\
constitutes reversible error. González-Vélez does not indicate how\
he was prejudiced by this supposed "technical violation" in any\
way. Nor does he provide any support for his argument that this\
constitutes reversible error. We therefore treat this argument as\
waived. See United States v. Zannino, 895 F.2d 1, 17 (1st Cir.\
1990) ("It is not enough merely to mention a possible argument in\
the most skeletal way, leaving the court to do counsel\'s work,\
create the ossature for the argument, and put flesh on its\
bones.").\
'

var WPFootnote5 = 'A slang term for $1 bills.\
'

var WPFootnote6 = 'Moreover, contrary to González-Vélez\'s argument, this court has\
never held that a quantity attributable to a conspiracy member is\
dependent on either the number of roles he had or the supervisory\
nature of his role. The cases on which González-Vélez relies to\
support this proposition, if properly read, do not help him. In\
Pizarro-Berríos, we did not hold the defendant responsible for the\
conspiracy-wide financial damages merely because he had multiple\
roles; rather, we held that because the defendant was a friend of\
one of the heads of the scheme and served as his bodyguard, the\
defendant was in a position to know how much money was being\
stolen. 448 F.3d at 8-9. In Rodríguez, defendant Rodríguez\'s role\
as controller of the drug point made it clear that he could foresee\
how much crack was sold there. 162 F.3d at 140, 149.\
'

var WPFootnote7 = 'González-Vélez also argues that the alleged failure to rule on\
the acceptance of responsibility issue violates 18 U.S.C.\
§ 3553(c)(1). We need not address this argument in detail because\
18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(1) does not apply to rulings on acceptance of\
responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1. Section 3553(c)(1) applies\
to the court\'s choice of a sentence within a guideline range. See\
supra n.4. In contrast, U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 affects the offense\
level, from which the GSR is calculated. Thus, 18 U.S.C.\
§ 3553(c)(1) does not come into play until after a decision\
is made on the appropriate offense level.\
'

function WPShow( WPid, WPtext )
{
if( bInlineFloats )
eval( "document.all." + WPid + ".style.visibility = 'visible'" );
else
{
if( floatwnd == 0 || floatwnd.closed )
floatwnd = window.open( "", "comment", "toolbars=0,width=600,height=200,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,dependent=1" );
floatwnd.document.open( "text/html", "replace" );
floatwnd.document.write( "\r\n" );
floatwnd.document.write( " p { margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:1px; } \r\n" );
floatwnd.document.write( "\r\n" );
floatwnd.document.write( WPtext );
floatwnd.document.write( 'Close');
floatwnd.document.write( "