Case Explained: UNITED STATES v. NIVALDO DA CONCEIÇÃO LEVEL

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Filed: 2026-06-16 The First Circuit vacated Nivaldo da Conceição Level’s sentence and remanded the case for resentencing because the district court applied an incorrect legal framework when denying a mitigating role adjustment under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2. The appellate court held that the district court erred by defining the “universe of participants” solely as the two defendants apprehended on the plane, rather than including all discernable participants involved in the relevant conduct, such as the recruiters, drug owners, and FARC soldiers who facilitated the venture. Relying on the standard established in *United States v. Guía-Sendeme*, the court clarified that sentencing courts must compare a defendant’s culpability against the average participant across the entire criminal scheme, not just co-defendants present at the time of arrest. The court affirmed the district court’s application of the dangerous weapon enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1), finding it was not clearly improbable that the hunting knife found on board was connected to the drug offense, and affirmed the denial of a downward departure for duress or coercion under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.12, concluding that the record failed to support an objective determination that a reasonable person in Level’s position would have perceived a threat of physical injury sufficient to warrant the departure. Consequently, the case will be returned to the District Court for Puerto Rico to recalculate Level’s sentence using the correct four-step analysis for mitigating role adjustments. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.