United States v. Sophia Jones

658 F. App'x 188
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedAugust 12, 2016
Docket15-4377
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 658 F. App'x 188 (United States v. Sophia Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth 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. Sophia Jones, 658 F. App'x 188 (4th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Sophia Jones was convicted after a jury trial of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (2012), three counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 843(b) (2012), two counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2 and 21 U.S.C. § 841 (2012), and one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2 and 21 U.S.C. § 841. The district court sentenced Jones to a total of 120 months’ imprisonment, and Jones appeals. We affirm.

Jones argues first that her pre-trial motion for substitute counsel was erroneously denied. Because the magistrate judge, rather than the district court, issued the ruling denying the motion for substitute counsel, Rule 59(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs. Rule 59(a) requires that a party object to a magistrate judge’s determination on “any matter that does not dispose of a charge or defense” within 14 days after being served with a copy of the written order or after the oral order is stated on the record. Fed. R. Crim. P. 59(a). “Failure to object in accordance with this rule waives a party’s right to review.” Id.

The record does not indicate that Jones ever objected to the magistrate judge’s ruling before the district court. Accordingly, Jones has waived appellate review of this issue. Id; United States v. Schronce, 727 F.2d 91, 93-94 (4th Cir. 1984) (“We do not believe ... that the [Federal Magistrates] Act can be interpreted to permit a party ... to ignore his right to file objections with the district court without imperiling his right to raise the objections in the circuit court of appeals.”). We also reject as without merit Jones’ argument that the waiver resulting from her failure to object to the magistrate judge’s ruling should be excused in the interest of justice. See *190 Wells v. Shriners Hosp., 109 F.3d 198, 199-200 (4th Cir. 1997).

Next, Jones challenges the district court’s denial of her Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 motion for a judgment of acquittal on the basis of insufficient evidence, arguing that the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction on the conspiracy count. We review the district court’s ruling de novo. United States v. Green, 599 F.3d 360, 367 (4th Cir. 2010).

We review the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction “by determining whether there is substantial evidence in the record, when viewed in the light most favorable to the government, to support the conviction.” Id (internal quotation marks omitted). “Substantial evidence is evidence that a reasonable finder of fact could accept as adequate and sufficient to support a conclusion of a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). A court reviewing for such evidence may not assess the credibility of witnesses and must assume that the jury resolved contradictions in testimony in-the Government’s favor. Id.

On appeal, Jones does not contest that the Government sufficiently proved the existence of a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, that the conspiracy “as a whole” dealt with more than one kilogram of heroin, and that she was a member of the conspiracy. Rather, she argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that one kilogram or more of heroin and any amount of marijuana was attributable to her.

The drug quantity attributable to Jones was the amount she agreed to distribute or possess with intent to distribute as well as the amount agreed to be distributed or possessed with the intent to distribute by co-conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy that were known to Jones' or reasonably foreseeable to her. See United States v. Hickman, 626 F.3d 756, 763-72 (4th Cir. 2010); United States v. Brooks, 524 F.3d 549, 557-59 (4th Cir. 2008). Jones concedes that the evidence established her personal involvement in the distribution of “approximately 167 grams of heroin,” and, after review of the record, we conclude that there was substantial evidence that 1 kilogram or more of heroin was reasonably foreseeable to her. See United States v. Wang, 707 F.3d 911, 916 (7th Cir. 2013); United States v. Banks, 10 F.3d 1044, 1054 (4th Cir. 1993). In view of this conclusion, we need not address Jones’ contention that she is entitled to a reversal of her conviction or vacatur of her sentence based on insufficient evidence that any amount of marijuana was attributable to her. See United States v. Udeozor, 515 F.3d 260, 271 (4th Cir. 2008).

Finally, Jones challenges the district court’s denial of her motion for an extension of time to file a Fed. R. Crim. P. 33 motion for a new trial based on. ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court premised its denial on the determination that Jones failed to establish excusable neglect under Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(b)(1)(B). * We review this determination for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Cates, 716 F.3d 445, 448 (7th Cir. 2013) *191 (review of excusable neglect determination under Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(b)(1)(B) is for abuse of discretion); see also United States v. Breit, 754 F.2d 526, 528-29 (4th Cir. 1985) (applying abuse of discretion standard to assess claim that criminal defendant’s delay in filing notice of appeal was excusable neglect).

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Bluebook (online)
658 F. App'x 188, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sophia-jones-ca4-2016.