United States v. Laron Kevin Kortgaard

BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge.

Laron Kevin Kortgaard appeals his conviction and sentence for manufacturing marijuana. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirmed Kortgaard’s conviction in an unpublished Memorandum and deferred submission of the sentencing issues. United States v. Kortgaard, 119 Fed.Appx. 148 (9th Cir.2005). We now hold that upward departures under § 4A1.3 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines involve factual findings beyond the fact of a prior conviction. Because Kortgaard’s sentence was increased under § 4A1.3 and exceeds the maximum authorized sentence based…