United States Ninth Circuit

Convictions and a sentence for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and intentional use of a communication facility in causing and facilitating conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance are affirmed over claims that: 1) the government failed to show necessity for a wiretap on two telephones and failed to properly minimize the various wiretaps it used in its investigation of the conspiracy; 2) the district court improperly applied a four-level enhancement to one defendant's offense level for his role as an "organizer or leader"; and 3) the sentence was unreasonable.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/02/2008
• Published 06/05/2008

Judges

• BETTY B. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:, Before: B. FLETCHER, ANDREW J. KLEINFELD, and RONALD M. GOULD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Beth M. Bollinger, Spokane, WA, for defendant-appellant Gilberto Baez Rivera., Nicholas W. Marchi, Carney & Marchi, Seattle, WA, for defendant-appellant Leonel Mendoza., Philip E. Nino, Spokane, WA, for defendant-appellant Rigoberto Baez Rivera., Dan B. Johnson, Spokane, WA, for defendant-appellant Alice Espinoza., Jane Kirk, Assistant United States Attorney, Yakima, WA, for plaintiff-appellee.