United States v. Issam Awad

Issam Awad (“Awad” or “defendant”) appeals the sentence imposed on him following his guilty plea to one count of illegally possessing pseudoephedrine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (d)(2). On appeal, Awad raises two arguments. First, he argues that the district court abused its discretion under United States v. Quach, 302 F.3d 1096 (9th Cir.2002), by ruling on the government’s motion for a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 without requiring the government to furnish a more comprehensive analysis of the cooperation Awad was providing. Second, Awad contends that the district court clearly erred in refusing to characterize him as a “minimal participant” in the offense, which would justify a further downward departure pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (a). We conclude that the district court abused its discretion by imposing sentence while laboring, along with the government, under a mistaken view that the government could later assess the defendant’s pre-sen-tence cooperation by a future Rule 35(b) motion. As to Awad’s second argument, we conclude that the district court’s refusal to characterize Awad as a…