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Court Affirms Upward CH Departure & Obstruction Enhancement

By Shari Allison

US v. Webster, 2010 WL 1531064 (10th Cir. 4/19/10) (unpub) - affirmance of 2-level enhancement for obstruction of justice and upward departure for under-representation of criminal history. The district court implicitly found that Webster willfully gave false testimony under oath on a material matter. The district court finding that Mr. Webster committed the felony of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon is inconsistent with Webster's claimed self-defense and accidental discharge of a firearm. The perjurious testimony was material because, if believed, it would tend to influence the issue under determination. The district court also concluded that Mr. Webster was deliberately lying to avoid punishment. With respect to under-representation, the district court made credibility findings, deferred to by the court, that Webster was not acting in self-defense when 2 prior shooting incidents occurred.continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on April 20, 2010 (boomark / email).