Background
Michael Saizan pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon under Section eighteen U.S.C. nine hundred twenty-two subsection G one. The presentence report found his firearm was capable of accepting a large capacity magazine, triggering an enhancement under the United States Sentencing Guidelines section two K two point one subsection A one. Saizan did not object to these findings at his sentencing hearing. The district court applied the enhancement and sentenced him to one hundred sixty-eight months imprisonment.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the sentence for plain error because Saizan failed to object in the district court. The court found no error because Saizan admitted the factual basis for the enhancement by not objecting to the presentence report. The government was not required to produce further evidence for the enhancement. The court also found no evidence in the record that an exception for semi-automatic firearms with an attached tubular device applied to Saizan.
What it means going forward
The ruling reinforces that defendants must actively object to factual findings in presentence reports to preserve arguments against sentencing enhancements on appeal.
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