Did the District Court Commit Clear Error in Finding that Cockett Suffered from a Significantly Reduced Mental Capacity?
When examining factual determinations made by the district court for the purpose of applying the Sentencing Guidelines, we review for clear error. See 18 U.S.C. 3742(e); United States v. Cooper, 302 F.3d 592, 594 (6th Cir. 2002). Thus, we cannot disturb the district court’s determination that Cockett committed the offense of aiding and assisting in the preparation of twenty-one false federal income tax returns while suffering from a significantly reduced mental capacity, unless the judge committed clear error in doing so. The government argues that the district court could not have found, after viewing all of the evidence, either that Cockett suffered from a reduced mental capacity at the time of the offense or, in the alternative, that her reduced mental capacity contributed to the commission of the offenses in this case. In support of these contentions, the government points out that in order for Cockett to have perpetrated this crime, she had to have understood the complexities of t
