United States v. Harold Junior Stanberry

963 F.2d 1323, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 7315, 1992 WL 77948
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 21, 1992
Docket91-7021
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 963 F.2d 1323 (United States v. Harold Junior Stanberry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Harold Junior Stanberry, 963 F.2d 1323, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 7315, 1992 WL 77948 (10th Cir. 1992).

Opinions

BRORBY, Circuit Judge.

Mr. Stanberry was convicted of thirteen felony counts which included one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine and twelve other drug related counts. On appeal, Mr. Stanberry asserts the trial court committed two errors: First, it failed to submit a special interrogatory to the jury inquiring as to the time the conspiracy ended; and second, the trial court improperly calculated his base offense level by applying a version of the Sentencing Guidelines which was in effect at the conclusion of the conspiracy rather than the version in effect at the commencement of the conspiracy. We affirm.

The nature of this appeal is such we need not review the evidence in detail as no [1325]*1325claim is made concerning the sufficiency of the evidence; however, a generalized statement of the evidence is necessary for a discussion of the issues. In 1988, Mr. Stan-berry was living with his then girlfriend, Stacy Coyote. Mr. Stanberry’s activities caused him to come to the attention of the Drug Task Force and before long, an undercover agent was making regular purchases of significant quantities of methamphetamine from Mr. Stanberry. Some of these purchases were made through Mr. Russell, a co-defendant and co-conspirator who also sold methamphetamine directly to the undercover agent. Ms. Coyote1 also helped Mr. Stanberry. These sales and purchases were made during a six month period from March through August 1988. The agent made no purchases from Mr. Stanberry, Mr. Russell or Ms. Coyote after August 1, 1988.

In August 1990, two years later, a parcel from California addressed to Ms. Coyote at Mr. Stanberry’s residence was intercepted and found to contain approximately one pound of methamphetamine. Postal inspectors, together with members of the Drug Task Force, made a controlled delivery of the parcel to Mr. Stanberry who accepted delivery, carried the parcel back to his residence, and displayed it to Ms. Coyote. A search warrant for Mr. Stanber-ry’s residence was obtained and, while the parcel was not found, various items used in the preparation, concealment, delivery and packaging of methamphetamine were found. The undercover agent identified this paraphernalia as the same items utilized by Mr. Stanberry during his 1988 drug sales.

I

The Special Interrogatory

The indictment, in Count I, charged a conspiracy to commit drug offenses, i.e., the possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and the distribution of methamphetamine, from March 1988 through August 14, 1990. The evidence established that a majority of the drug transactions, both by number and by weight, occurred in 1988 and a minority occurred in 1990. The 1990 conduct involved the receipt of the one pound of methamphetamine.

At the instruction conference Mr. Stan-berry’s counsel had no objections to the instructions; however, he offered a special interrogatory which the trial court rejected. The offered special interrogatory asked the jury, if they found Mr. Stanberry guilty of the conspiracy charge, whether they believed his involvement in the conspiracy terminated in August 1988 or in August 1990. Mr. Stanberry contended at the sentencing proceedings that as a majority of the drug transactions by weight occurred in 1988, the 1988 Sentencing Guidelines should apply. Mr. Stanberry now asserts the time hiatus creates a question of fact concerning sentencing. He also contends that if his involvement in the conspiracy terminated in 1988, the quantity of methamphetamine found in the package in 1990 would have been excluded from the computation of the base offense level for the conspiracy count. Mr. Stanberry further asserts the failure of the trial court to submit the special interrogatory to the jury was a violation of his right to Due Process.

Prior to beginning our analysis we note several facts. This is not a case where the use of a general verdict rendered the guilty verdict uncertain such as was the case in Newman v. United States, 817 F.2d 635 (10th Cir.1987). Furthermore, Mr. Stanberry does not contend the evidence was insufficient to convict. In fact, he candidly concedes he is guilty of committing the conspiracy. Moreover, none of the counts contained in the indictment charge Mr. Stanberry concerning any specified quantity of methamphetamine in August 1990.

For the sake of simplicity, we restate Mr. Stanberry’s issue as whether due process requires a special factual finding [1326]*1326from the jury regarding sentencing factors. We hold it does not. A defendant charged with having engaged in a drug related conspiracy is not entitled to have special interrogatories which are relevant only to sentencing factors.

It is axiomatic that the facts relevant to guilt or innocence are for a jury to decide and that the facts relevant to sentencing are for the sentencing court to decide. United States v. Puryear, 940 F.2d 602, 603 (10th Cir.1991). The Sentencing Guidelines require both the prosecution and the defendant to respond to a presen-tence report and to identify any issues in dispute. When factors important to the sentencing determination are reasonably in dispute, the sentencing court must then resolve these issues in accordance with Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(a)(1). The sentencing court may even consider relevant information which a jury would not have been allowed to hear. Sentencing Guidelines § 6A1.3. We have held that the sentencing court makes this factual determination utilizing a preponderance of the evidence standard, United States v. Easterling, 921 F.2d 1073, 1077 (10th Cir.1990), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 111 S.Ct. 2066, 114 L.Ed.2d 470 (1991); United States v. Kirk, 894 F.2d 1162, 1164 (10th Cir.1990), which is something far removed from the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard a jury must employ to convict.

The drug crimes charged in the indictment are not quantity dependent. The jury was not required to make a quantity finding to return a verdict of guilty. The sentencing judge is, however, obligated to make a quantity determination in calculating and imposing the sentence.

The basic fact question is the termination date of the conspiracy. This too is a sentencing factor which relates only to the calculus of the sentence rather than to the issue of guilt or innocence. We are not alone in so holding. Other circuits confronted with the issue of Sentencing Guidelines applicability have likewise treated the termination date of a continuing crime, such as conspiracy, as a finding to be made by the sentencing court. United States v. Underwood, 932 F.2d 1049, 1054 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 112 S.Ct. 382, 116 L.Ed.2d 333 (1991); United States v. Watford, 894 F.2d 665, 670 (4th Cir.1990); United States v. Rosa, 891 F.2d 1063, 1068-69 (3d Cir.1989).2

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Bluebook (online)
963 F.2d 1323, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 7315, 1992 WL 77948, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-harold-junior-stanberry-ca10-1992.