United States v. Faison

214 F. App'x 346

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: January 24, 2007
• Docket: 05-4608
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Christopher Leon Faison pled guilty to distributing “61.2 grams (net weight) of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base (“crack”).” (J.A.5). He received a mandatory minimum ten-year sentence under 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(b)(1)(A) (West 2000 & Supp.2005). On appeal, Faison argues that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment rights under United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

The Government bears the burden of proving the quantity of drugs for which a defendant should be held accountable at sentencing. See United States v. Gilliam, 987 F.2d 1009, 1013 (4th Cir.1993). We find that the Government met its burden in Faison’ s case because he pled guilty, without reserving his right to challenge the amount for sentencing purposes, to an indictment that attributes a specific quantity of drugs to him. Id. Thus, we find no error under Booker as Faison admitted to the relevant drug amount by pleading guilty to the indictment in this case. Booker, 543 U.S. at 244, 125 S.Ct. 738.

Accordingly, we affirm Faison’s sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED.