US v. James Smith, Jr., No. 09-5207 (4th Cir. 2010)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 09-5207 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JAMES CHINA SMITH, JR., a/k/a JJ, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Florence. R. Bryan Harwell, District Judge. (4:08-cr-00870-RBH-3) Submitted: November 30, 2010 Before KING and Circuit Judge. SHEDD, Circuit Decided: Judges, and December 22, 2010 HAMILTON, Senior Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Henry M. Anderson, Jr., ANDERSON LAW FIRM, PA, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellant. William N. Nettles, United States Attorney, Carrie A. Fisher, Assistant United States Attorney, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: James China Smith, Jr., pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of cocaine base. to a government statements At his sentencing hearing, Smith objected witness following a who testified polygraph regarding examination. Smith s The court overruled the objection, noting that it was not relying on the results from the polygraph, but was relying on statements made by Smith himself after being informed that he had failed the examination. Smith told the examiner that he had lied about whether he had continued to engage in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine while on bond. ineligible § 3553(f) for a (2006); Thus, the court found that Smith was safety U.S. valve reduction. Sentencing See Guidelines 18 Manual U.S.C. ( USSG ) § 5C1.2 (2009). We discretion do in not find relying polygraph examination. that on the Smith s district court statements abused its following his United States v. Hopkins, 310 F.3d 145, 154 (4th Cir. 2002) (providing review standard). Sentencing courts are given wider latitude on evidentiary matters because the Federal Rules of Evidence do not apply at sentencing. Id. Evidence has may be considered at sentencing as long as it sufficient indicia of reliability, see USSG § 6A1.3(a), p.s., including hearsay statements. See 2 United States v. Wilkinson, 590 F.3d 259, 269 (4th Cir. 2010) (noting that a sentencing court may give weight to any relevant information before it, including uncorroborated hearsay, provided that the information has sufficient indicia of reliability to support its accuracy ) (citation omitted). Accordingly, we affirm Smith s sentence. with oral adequately argument presented as in the the facts and materials legal before We dispense contentions the court are and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 3
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