Don Eugene Nixon Jr. was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute, and multiple counts of distribution. The district court sentenced him to 720 months of imprisonment, a term below the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range. Nixon appealed, arguing two main points: first, that the district court erred during jury selection by failing to ask potential jurors a specific question about bias based on gang affiliation, and second, that his sentence was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable due to errors in calculating the drug weight and the overall length of the term.
The court addressed the voir dire challenge first, noting that while the Sixth Amendment guarantees an impartial jury, the Constitution does not dictate the specific depth or breadth of questions a district court must ask. The court emphasized that district courts have broad discretion in this area, except when racial prejudice is inextricably bound to the trial and the defendant requests specific questioning. Crucially, the court reiterated that a specific objection or request during the voir dire process is required to preserve the issue for appeal; submitting a list of proposed questions without a formal objection is insufficient. Because Nixon failed to object to the omission of the gang bias question, the court reviewed the claim for plain error. To succeed, Nixon needed to show an error that was clear, affected his substantial rights, and seriously impacted the fairness of the proceedings. The court found no plain error because gang affiliation was not inextricably bound to the charges or evidence against him, and the court had otherwise thoroughly questioned the jurors. Regarding the sentencing challenge, the court applied a deferential abuse of discretion standard. On the procedural issue of drug weight, the court noted that when no physical seizure occurs, the district court may approximate the quantity using any relevant information, including uncorroborated hearsay, provided it has sufficient indicia of reliability. The court found the district court reasonably approximated the weight based on cooperating defendants' statements and investigator corroboration. Finally, on substantive reasonableness, the court observed that a sentence within or below the Guidelines range is presumptively reasonable. The district court had thoroughly addressed the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and explained its reasoning, and Nixon failed to rebut the presumption of reasonableness.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed, meaning Nixon's conviction and 720-month sentence remain in effect. This decision reinforces the requirement for defense counsel to make specific, on-the-record objections during voir dire to preserve bias-related claims for appeal. It also clarifies that district courts retain significant discretion in approximating drug quantities for sentencing based on reliable hearsay when no physical evidence is seized, and that below-Guidelines sentences are afforded a strong presumption of substantive reasonableness.
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