Whether the Court should resolve the circuit conflict by requiring de novo review for contested methodologies used to determine Base Offense Levels in narcotics prosecutions

QUESTION PRESENTED FOR REVIEW A fourth of the federal cases reported to the United States Sentencing Commission are narcotics prosecutions. The issue of drug quantity frequently heavily influences the element of Relevant Conduct which factors into those offenders’ Sentencing Guidelines’ Base Offense Levels. After being convicted by a jury for a federal narcotics conspiracy charge, Petitioner unsuccessfully contested the district judge’s approach to determining the quantity of drugs for which he was being held accountable. On appeal, Petitioner contended that the trial judge’s methodology should be reviewed de novo. The Circuit Court reviewed for clear error, which is the standard followed in three courts of appeals. Conversely, five Circuits apply a de novo standard of review; the process employed by two other Circuits is equally rigorous. This distinction can make a difference: courts using the more vigorous standard of review have reversed sentences flowing from methodologies that depended more on conjecture than recognized criteria. This case is unaffected by the doctrine of sentencing guidelines abstention. Deciding the standard of appellate review is a matter for this Court. Thus understood, the question presented is whether the Court should resolve the circuit conflict by requiring de novo review for contested methodologies used to determine Base Offense Levels in narcotics prosecutions. ii RULE 14.1(b) CERTIFICATE Petitioner certifies as follows: qa) Parties. The parties who appeared before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and in the District of Columbia Circuit in the proceedings that resulted in the judgment from which a writ of certiorari is sought were Petitioner Lonnell Tucker (U.S. Ct. App. No 19-3042) and Respondent the United States of America. Jonathan Fields and Abdul Samuels were co-defendants at trial. James Venable, Darryl Smith, and Lacy Hamilton pleaded guilty in the District Court. Defendant Calvin Wright was acquitted and Artemis Wilson was a fugitive. (ai)