United States First Circuit

Conviction and sentence for drug crimes is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the district court erred in not requiring the government to show that the presentence report's description of the prior New York conviction was based on a sufficiently reliable source to establish the accuracy of that description, and thus the government could not have met its burden of establishing the existence of the prior conviction for sentencing enhancement purposes; 2) the court did not err in finding that a certified copy of the record from the Suffolk Superior Court was sufficiently reliable to support the fact of defendant's Suffolk Superior Court conviction for sentencing enhancement purposes; 3) both of the defendant's prior convictions, if proven, qualify as a predicate offenses under U.S.S.G. sec. 4B1.2; and 4) the court did not err in considering the two transactions as part of the same course of conduct for purposes of sentencing.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/08/2009
• Published 07/08/2009

Judges

• TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA, STAHL, and HOWARD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William W. Fick, Federal Defender Office, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Randall E. Kromm, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Michael J. Sullivan, United States Attorney, was on brief for appellee.