United States Tenth Circuit

Convictions for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute are affirmed where officers had probable cause to arrest defendants when they stopped their cars, and thus, evidence recovered from the cars was properly admitted. One defendant's sentence is affirmed over claims that: 1) comments by the sentencing judge referring to the Apostle Paul impermissibly injected religion into the sentencing process, violating his due process rights; 2) his sentence was improper as the court failed to explain its application of the statutory sentencing factors; and 3) the sentence was otherwise unreasonable.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/01/2007
• Published 03/02/2007

Judges

• TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge., Before BRISCOE, EBEL, and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Jill M. Wichlens, Assistant Federal Public Defender (Raymond P. Moore, Federal Public Defender, with her on the briefs) Office of the Federal Public Defender, Denver, CO, for Defendant-Appellant Jerry Traxler in Case No. 05-2370., Howard L. Anderson, Fairacres, NM, for Defendant-Appellant Dennis Denning in Case No. 06-2179., David N. Williams, Assistant United States Attorney (David C. Iglesias, United States Attorney, with him on the brief) Office of the United States Attorney, Albuquerque, NM, for Plaintiff-Appellee in Case Nos. 05-2370 and 06-2179.