Drug Conspiracy Conviction Affirmed, Plus Immigration Matter

US v. Rivera-Moreno, 08-1961, concerned a challenge to the district court's imposition of a sentence of 365 month's imprisonment and a fifteen year term of supervised release in a prosecution of defendant for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.  In affirming both the sentence and the term of supervised release, the court held that the district court did not commit clear error in its factual findings, including the calculations of the drug quantities, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing defendant's sentence.

Makalo v. Holder, 09-2034, concerned a Gambian citizen's petition for review of a decision by the BIA affirming an IJ's denial of his application for withholding of removal and related relief.  In denying the petition, the court held that substantial evidence supported the IJ's and BIA's denial of relief as petitioner simply did not present significant credible evidence that he was wanted by Gambian authorities or that he was wanted for political reasons.

Related Resources:

• Full text of Makalo v. Holder
• Full text of US v. Rivera-Moreno