Pre-Booker Drug Sentence Reversed Based on Suspect Snitch Testimony

U.S. v. Thornton, 2006 WL 1901035 (7/12/06)(unpub'd) - The 10th reverses a pre-Booker sentence because it violated the Sixth Amendment. The government could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt the harmlessness of the mandatory drug quantity calculations because they were mostly based on the highly suspect testimony of an accomplice. The 10th also suggests that the d.ct. could impose a below-guideline range sentence on the ground that otherwise the defendant would receive the same sentence as the more culpable snitching co-defendant.