Coles v. United States

FARRELL, Associate Judge:

A jury found appellant guilty of one count of possessing marijuana. D.C.Code § 33-541(d) (1993). The trial judge sentenced him to one year in prison. The only issue prompting this published opinion is whether remarks made by the judge at sentencing demonstrate that he penalized appellant for exercising his right to stand trial or for his failure to admit responsibility for the offense after trial at a time when his Fifth Amendment privilege was still intact. Although the judge’s remarks just before imposing sentence trouble us, we conclude that they provide no ground…