United States v. Hooker, 4th Cir. (1998)
United States v. Hooker, 4th Cir. (1998)
United States v. Hooker, 4th Cir. (1998)
fied the court that it could not reach a verdict. This Court reviews the
giving of an Allen charge for abuse of discretion. See United States
v. Russell, 971 F.2d 1098, 1107 (4th Cir. 1992). Because the charge
was given on the second day of deliberations and because the language of the charge was proper, see United States v. Sawyers, 423
F.2d 1335 (4th Cir. 1970), we find no abuse of discretion in the
court's action.
Finally, Hooker claims that the district court erred in using a base
offense level of 38 in his sentencing. We review this claim for clear
error. See United States v. Ellis, 975 F.2d 1061, 1067 (4th Cir. 1992).
The basis for Hooker's claim is again his assertion that the Government's witnesses, convicted drug dealers, were not credible and that
the district court should not have used their testimony to determine
the amount of drugs for which he was responsible. The court noted
this objection, but stated that it found the evidence presented to be
credible. We again note that credibility determinations are within the
province of the finder of fact, here the district court, and are not amenable to appellate review. See Saunders, 886 F.2d at 60. Therefore,
we find no clear error.
For these reasons, we affirm Hooker's jury conviction and resulting
sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court
and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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