Defendant’s perjury sentence was properly hitched to guidelines sentence for murder where perjury occurred before grand jury investigating murder

SENTENCING United States v. Olsen, No. 06-4307, ___ F.3d ___ (10th Cir. Mar. 11, 2008)(Utah). Appeal of convictions and sentence for perjury in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623(a). HELD: Regardless of standard of proof applied (i.e., preponderance, clear and convincing, or beyond reasonable doubt) evidence showed that defendant perjured himself before grand jury investigating victim’s disappearance and possible murder. Defendant’s perjury, therefore, related to crime of murder. Consequently, district court correctly applied sentencing guideline for second-degree murder as cross-referenced offense underlying the perjury to determine defendant’s sentencing base offense level of 38. Read the opinion here.