United States Tenth Circuit
US v. De La Torre, 09-3029
Defendant's drug possession conviction is affirmed where: 1) 18 U.S.C. section 841(a)(1) did not require the government to prove a defendant knew the precise nature of the controlled substance he possessed, so long as he knew he did in fact possess a controlled substance; and 2) the inadmissibility of statements made to Pretrial Services as to the issue of guilt did not restrict the government from using such statements to impeach a defendant's trial testimony. However, his sentence is vacated where, while defendant did not produce any evidence at the sentencing hearing below, the district court did not permit him the opportunity to do so, instead concluding that trial testimony could not, under any circumstances, satisfy U.S.S.G. section 5C1.2(a)(5).
Appellate Information
- Decided 03/30/2010
- Published 03/30/2010
Judges
Court
- United States Tenth Circuit