United States v. Pinkham
896 F.3d 133
1st Cir.2018Background
- Pinkham led a family-run heroin distribution conspiracy from Gorham, Maine (2012–2015), escalating from 10–20 g every two months to ~200–400 g per month.
- Indicted on multiple counts; pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin (count one), conspiracy to possess stolen firearms (count four), and attempted witness tampering (count twelve); other counts dismissed.
- PSI attributed 3.23 kg of heroin to Pinkham, yielding a base offense level of 32 and, after adjustments, a total offense level of 39.
- District court adopted the PSI’s drug-quantity finding, calculated a criminal history score of 6 (CHC III), but imposed a variant below-guidelines sentence of 240 months (range would have been 324–405 months).
- Pinkham appealed, arguing (1) the court erred by including drugs he personally consumed in the conspiracy drug-quantity, and (2) the court miscalculated his criminal history score by counting two prior convictions.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drug quantity attributable in conspiracy | District court’s calculation overstated quantity; originally argued arithmetic error, on appeal argued error in including personal-use drugs | Personal-use purchases should be excluded from drug-quantity in his case; rule of lenity favors exclusion | Court rejected new theory as forfeited (plain-error review) and held personal-use purchases are properly included in a conspiracy’s attributable quantity; no plain error |
| Driving without a valid license (2003 Florida conviction) counted in CHS | Should be excluded as analogous to minor traffic infractions under USSG §4A1.2(c)(2) | Court treated it like driving with suspended/revoked license (enumerated analog); 60-day max jail means not exempt | Court found comparison reasonable, defendant failed to show exemption; inclusion of 2 points not plain error |
| Truancy conviction (2008 Florida conviction) counted in CHS | Argued truancy/juvenile-status offense should be excluded under USSG §4A1.2(c)(2) | Court included one point; appellant offered no developed record-based argument | Argument deemed waived for perfunctory presentation; no reversible error |
Key Cases Cited
- Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (sentencing review standard and abuse-of-discretion framework)
- United States v. Santos, 357 F.3d 136 (drug-quantity for sentencing from course of conduct/common scheme)
- United States v. Rivera-Rodríguez, 617 F.3d 581 (co-conspirator responsible for drugs reasonably foreseeable to the conspiracy)
- United States v. Demers, 842 F.3d 8 (personal-use purchases relevant in conspiracy sentencing)
- United States v. Innamorati, 996 F.2d 456 (same principle on personal-use inclusion)
- United States v. Maldonado, 614 F.3d 14 (interpretation of §4A1.2(c) exemptions for criminal history scoring)