United States v. James, No. 10-10399 (11th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, convicted of possession with intent to distribute less than five grams of cocaine (21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)), was sentenced to 262 months incarceration. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting a challenge to a jury instruction on "reasonable doubt" that had been submitted by defense counsel and that is a part of the Circuit's Pattern Jury Instructions. Rejecting an argument that the district court did not comply with 21 U.S.C. 851(b) in sentencing because it failed to conduct a colloquy regarding prior convictions, the court found that substantial compliance was adequate. Defendant never claimed that prior convictions listed in the information and presentence report were invalid or are not, in fact, his. He did not file a response and did not object to the description of his prior convictions or to the enhancement of his sentence based on those prior convictions.
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