Court Upholds Sentence Based on the Total Drug Amount Carried by Group |
SENTENCINGJanuary 1995 |
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a defendant who was sentenced according to the total amount of drugs carried among him and his colleagues was fair (U.S. v. Hernandez-Coronado, No. 94-60144, 39 F.3d 573 (5th Cir. 1994); 56 CrL 1232).
The man was travelling with a group of 11 people trying to cross the U.S. border. Each person carried a 30-pound bale of marijuana. Hernandez-Coronado was sentenced according to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for the total amount of the drugs, over 300 pounds, not just the amount he carried.