United States v. Booker, No. 10-2736 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseAppellant appealed his mandatory 120 month sentence after he pled guilty to various drug trafficking crimes. Appellant contended that he was the victim of sentencing entrapment and that the government's 21 U.S.C. 851(a) notice was defective. The court held that even if the district court erred by failing to find sentencing entrapment, any such error was not clear or obvious. The court also held that strong evidence existed in the record weighing against appellant's claim that he was not so predisposed and therefore, there was no evidence of particular difficulty in getting appellant to entertain the idea of selling crack cocaine. The court also held that appellant had not demonstrated any error warranting plan error relief where the government's notice fulfilled section 851(a)'s requirements, as well as its purpose, by informing appellant of his prior convictions, with ample time to decide whether to enter a plea or go to trial with full knowledge of the consequences of a guilty verdict.
Court Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. Sentencing entrapment argument rejected; government's Section 851(a) notice was not defective as it informed defendant of his prior convictions and gave him ample time to decide to enter a plea or go to trial.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.