United States v. Brandon Dean

MEMORANDUM

Brandon Dean appeals from a conviction of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. We affirm the conviction but remand to the district court for resentencing. Because the parties are familiar with the facts and procedural history, we will not recount them here.

Dean contends the district court erred in its response to a jury inquiry about the specific counts against him by summarizing the evidence presented in relation to each count. The court decided to avoid the risk of new or prejudicial information reaching the jury through other methods of relaying the relevant information. Its statement neither injected something new into the evidence nor “undermine[d] the factfinder’s responsibility at trial, based on evidence adduced by the [prosecution], to find the ultimate facts beyond a reasonable doubt.” Cnty. Court of Ulster Cnty., N.Y. v. Allen, 442 U.S. 140, 156 , 99 S.Ct. 2213 , 60 L.Ed.2d 777 (1979).

Dean also contends that the district court failed to address his objections to the presentence report, and imposed an obstruction of justice enhancement to his sentence without first making specific factual findings. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(i)(3)(B)…