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United States v. Rhine
583 F.3d 878
5th Cir.
2009
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Docket

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Curtis Oneal RHINE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 08-10502

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

May 7, 2009.

513-514

Before KING, DENNIS, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

Matthew Kyle Belcher, Federal Public Defender‘s Office Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

PER CURIAM:*

Curtis Oneal Rhine pleaded guilty without a written plea agreement to one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C); 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a) and 2. Rhine argues that the district court erred in attributing five kilograms of crack cocaine to him as relevant conduct. See U.S.S.G. §§ 1B1.3(a)(1). The district court made the factual finding that the quantities in the count of conviction and in the challenged relevant conduct were related. Given the evidence in the record linking the two quantities, we cannot say that the district court‘s finding was clearly erroneous. See

United States v. Alford, 142 F.3d 825, 831-32 (5th Cir.1998).

Rhine further argues that the relevant conduct finding by the district court was neither admitted by him nor proven beyond a reasonable doubt and, for this reason, infringed upon his Sixth Amendment rights. Following

United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), “[t]he sentencing judge is entitled to find by a preponderance of the evidence all the facts relevant to the determination of a guideline sentencing range.”
United States v. Johnson, 445 F.3d 793, 798 (5th Cir.2006)
. Rhine‘s argument that his statutory maximum sentence was unreasonable because his guidelines range was not properly calculated in violation of the Sixth Amendment is without merit. See
United States v. Alonzo, 435 F.3d 551, 553 (5th Cir.2006)
.

AFFIRMED.

Notes

*
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.

Case Details

Case Name: United States v. Rhine
Court Name: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Date Published: May 7, 2009
Citation: 583 F.3d 878
Docket Number: 08-10502
Court Abbreviation: 5th Cir.
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