Jose Cesar Sanchez, et al. v. United States
JusticiabilityDoctri
Should this Court grant certiorari to resolve this significant circuit split and the Ninth Circuit's failure to follow binding precedent from this Court?
QUESTION PRESENTED FOR REVIEW A. Like most other circuits, the Ninth Circuit has long held that an individual coconspirator convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 846 is liable only for the type and quantity of drugs that was reasonably foreseeable to her, not for the entire amount involved in the full conspiracy. Recently, the Ninth Circuit reversed course and eliminated the individual requirement of foreseeability. Now, contrary to the rule in eight other circuits, it holds that the government is not required to prove any degree of scienter on the part of an individual defendant with respect to drug type or quantity before holding them personally liable at sentencing for conspiracy-wide quantities. The rule of individual foreseeability, as recognized by these other circuits, is required by this Court’s decisions in Alleyne and Rehaif. Should this Court grant certiorari to resolve this significant circuit split and to address the Ninth Circuit’s failure to follow binding precedent from this Court? ii