United States v. Miller

Miller and Wagner used and sold methamphetamine together in northwestern Wisconsin. After law enforcement learned of the couple’s illicit activity, Miller pled guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it. The district judge found that Miller and Wagner were jointly engaged in the distribution of between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and sentenced Miller to eight years in prison. The Seventh Circuit affirmed rejecting an argument that the district judge’s drug quantity finding was erroneous because Miller sold only a small portion of the drugs in question. Miller’s relevant conduct includes not only the sales he directly made himself but also the drug sales that Wagner foreseeably made in furtherance of their joint distribution scheme. There was no genuine dispute that Miller’s relevant conduct involved between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms. The district judge adequately explained why Miller’s sentence was necessary, given his history of drug use and drug sales; Miller did not overcome the presumption that his below‐Guidelines sentence is reasonable. View "United States v. Miller" on Justia Law