United States v. John D. Behler

100 F.3d 632, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 29740, 1996 WL 662856
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedNovember 18, 1996
Docket95-3810
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 100 F.3d 632 (United States v. John D. Behler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. John D. Behler, 100 F.3d 632, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 29740, 1996 WL 662856 (8th Cir. 1996).

Opinion

HANSEN, Circuit Judge.

John D. Behler appeals his sentence after remand following his conviction of four counts of federal drug trafficking crimes. In his first appeal, we affirmed Behler’s convictions but remanded for resentencing on three counts. See United States v. Behler, 14 F.3d 1264, 1273 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 115 S.Ct. 419, 130 L.Ed.2d 335 (1994). On remand, the district court held a resen-tencing hearing and imposed a new sentence on those counts. Behler appeals, contending that the district court improperly restricted the scope of the resentencing hearing, erred in its determination of the type of methamphetamine involved in the conspiracy and distribution scheme, and failed to fully apply the proper Sentencing Guidelines. Behler also contends that we should reverse his conviction for violating 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (1988) (the firearms count), in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bailey v. United States, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 501, 133 L.Ed.2d 472 (1995). We affirm in part and remand in part.

I.

From March 1, 1984, through May 16, 1989, John Behler was involved in a drug trafficking scheme. During that time, he made several trips to Colorado to purchase methamphetamine. Each time, he returned to Nebraska with one to two ounces of methamphetamine, which he distributed to various customers. Behler was tried by a jury and convicted of the following federal drug trafficking crimes: (I) conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, extending from March 1, 1984, through May 16,1989; (II) using or carrying .a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); (III) use of a telephone in furtherance of a drug felony in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b); and (IV) distribution of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Behler, 14 F.3d at 1267. At Behler’s original sentencing, the district court grouped counts I, III, and IV together, imposing a 168-month concurrent sentence for each. The court also imposed a 60-month consecutive sentence for count II, the firearm charge.

In Behler’s first appeal, we affirmed his convictions, his sentence on count II, and several sentencing determinations made by the district court. We vacated the sentences for counts I and IV and remanded them for resentencing, concluding that the sentence on these counts was harsher under the 1992 Guidelines in effect at the time of sentencing than it would be under the 1987 version of the Guidelines in effect at the time of the offense. Behler, 14 F.3d at 1271. The 1992 Guidelines provided alternate methods of determining a base offense level for a given quantity of methamphetamine — using either the weight of the substance or mixture containing the methamphetamine or the actual weight of only the methamphetamine itself, whichever results in the greatest offense level. Id. at 1271. By contrast, the 1987 version of the Guidelines provided only one manner of calculating quantity, and this method would have produced a lesser base offense for Behler. Id. Thus, we remanded for resentencing of these counts under the 1987 Guidelines. We also vacated the sentence for count III and remanded it for re-sentencing, concluding that the 168-month term of imprisonment, which resulted from grouping the closely related counts, exceeded *635 the statutory maximum term of imprisonment for that offense. Id. at 1273 n. 6. We affirmed the district court’s use of the preponderance of the evidence standard of proof to determine the drug quantity involved in the conspiracy. Id. at 1272. We affirmed the district court’s reliability determinations relating to witnesses whose testimony the district court relied on in determining the amount of methamphetamine involved in the drug conspiracy. Id. at 1273. We also affirmed the district court’s imposition of a three-level enhancement for Behler’s role in the offense and a two-level enhancement for obstructing justice. Id. Finally, we found no error in the district court’s ex parte discussion with the probation, officer during sentencing or the procedure of sealing the probation officer’s recommendation. Id.

On remand, the district court determined that our opinion precluded it from revisiting the quantity determination (399 grams), the role in the' offense determination, the obstruction of justice enhancement, and the issues involving the ex parte discussion with the probation officer and sealing of the probation officer’s recommendation. The district court held resentencing hearings to allow both sides to present evidence concerning the type of methamphetamine involved in the conspiracy and distribution scheme and found by a preponderance of the evidence that the entire amount consisted of dextro-methamphetamine (d-methamphetamine). The. district court rejected Behler’s challenge to the five-year term of supervised release. Applying the 1987 Sentencing Guidelines, the district court imposed a sentence of 108 months to run concurrently on counts I and IV, and a concurrent term of 48 months on count III. Behler appeals.

II.

Behler’s arguments on appeal challenge the district court’s interpretation of our prior opinion and application of the Sentencing Guidelines on resentencing. When reviewing a sentence, we review the district court’s factual findings for clear error and “give due deference to the district court’s application of the guidelines to the facts.’’ ‘ 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e); United States v. McKinney, 88 F.3d 551, 556 (1996).

A.

Behler asserts that because we “vacated” his sentence on counts I and IV, he should have been allowed a fresh opportunity to present any evidence and argument on the enhancements or the quantity of methamphetamine attributed to him. “Once a sentence has been vacated or a finding related to sentencing has been reversed and the ease has been remanded for resentencing, the district court can hear any relevant evidence on that issue that it could have heard at the first hearing.” United States v. Cornelius, 968 F.2d 703, 705 (8th Cir.1992). On remand, however, “all issues decided by the appellate court become the law of the case,” United States v. Bartsh, 69 F.3d 864, 866 (8th Cir.1995), and the sentencing court is bound to proceed within the scope of “any limitations imposed on its function at resentencing by the appellate court.” Cornelius, 968 F.2d at 705.

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Bluebook (online)
100 F.3d 632, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 29740, 1996 WL 662856, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-john-d-behler-ca8-1996.