21-usc-841

32 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
24-5117 Terrance Nathaniel Brown, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-07-19 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 21-usc-841 acquitted-conduct due-process ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-trial sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation statutory-sentencing Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to argue that the statutory sentence be based on marijuana under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(D) and that the sen…
23-7283 Hector Manuel Gomez Rodriguez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-04-22 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 21-usc-841 constitutional-scrutiny criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences non-capital-sentences proportionality-review sentencing Whether the Ninth Circuit contravened Harmelin's plurality and Ewing by exempting all sentences imposed under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(vii) from Eight…
23-6394 Andrew Tablack v. United States Third Circuit 2023-12-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-statute indictment indictment-defect scheduling statutory-interpretation Is there a legal element in 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) that requires the CDS named in the indictment to be listed on the Controlled Substance Schedules at th…
23-6087 Ronell Whitehead v. United States Third Circuit 2023-11-21 Denied IFP 21-usc-841 21-usc-846 circuit-split conspiracy-law controlled-substances drug-conspiracy drug-distribution mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation How is the quantity of controlled substances 'involved' determined for purposes of sentencing for conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846, when the offense o…
22-7292 Jason Edward Simpson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-04-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 controlled-substances-act criminal-procedure due-process jury-finding jury-instructions knowledge-element mens-rea reasonable-doubt statutory-minimum-maximum statutory-sentencing Whether a conviction of a substantive offense under 21 U.S.C. § 841 requires jury finding of defendant's knowledge of drug type and quantity
22-5902 Monica Rodriguez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-10-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 circuit-split controlled-substance drug-conspiracy mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement To prove conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance triggering mandatory-minimum and increased-maximum penalties, does the government need to est…
22-5816 Tony Lam v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-10-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 career-offender conspiracy conspiracy-offense controlled-substance ineffective-assistance legislative-authority legislative-delegation sentencing-commission sentencing-guidelines Did trial counsel provide ineffective assistance to his client upon his failure to research, investigate, and object to his client's career offender c…
22-5346 Sylvia Hofstetter v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-08-15 GVR IFP 21-usc-841 circuit-split drug-offense global-tech healthcare-provider jury-instruction ruan-v-united-states scienter-standard standard-of-review willful-blindness Whether the District Court erred by instructing the jury
21-8162 Darnell Pearson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-06-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 controlled-substances criminal-law drug-distribution mens-rea reasonable-foreseeability serious-bodily-injury statutory-interpretation Whether a charge of drug distribution requires proof of defendant's knowledge of drug type and reasonable foreseeability of death/injury
21-8020 Ronald Mitchell v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-06-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP §2255-motion 21-usc-841 certificate-of-appealability criminal-procedure drug-abuse drug-distribution heroin-possession ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel serious-bodily-injury Was trial counsel constitutionally ineffective for failing to consult or hire an expert witness in drug abuse
21-7759 Mikkel McKinnie v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-05-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 8th-amendment burrage-precedent causation drug-offense drug-related-death due-process guideline-range sentencing sentencing-reasonableness upward-variance Whether the Lower Courts Erred in Not Applying the Court's Precedent in Burrage v. United States
21-7393 Travis Ryan Skaggs v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-03-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-802 21-usc-841 concurrent-sentences first-step-act sentencing-enhancement serious-drug-felony statutory-interpretation term-of-imprisonment Whether the District Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals erred by holding that Mr. Skaggs' conviction in Wise County, Virginia on July 27, 2…
21-7342 Alejandro Salinas Garcia v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 drug-sentencing fair-sentencing-act first-step-act least-harsh-sentence multiple-drug-types sentencing-parameters statutory-penalties statutory-sentencing Does the record demonstrate that a defendant was sentenced in accordance with the FSA1 for violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841, involving multiple drug type…
20-8293 Louis John Fontanez v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-06-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP §2255-motion 21-usc-841 but-for-causation criminal-procedure due-process expert-witness expert-witnesses habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel penalty-enhancement Was counsel constitutionally ineffective because he failed to consult or hire expert witnesses to investigate the but-for causation of the victim's in…
20-1480 George P. Naum, III v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-04-22 GVR Relisted (6) 21-cfr-1306-04 21-usc-841 controlled-substances criminal-prosecution medical-practice opioid-prescription professional-standards statutory-interpretation united-states-v-moore Can the elements of 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) as defined in United States v. Moore, 423 U.S. 122 (1975) requiring the Government to prove unlawful distribu…
20-7121 Georges Michel v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-02-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 apprendi-rule apprendi-v-new-jersey drug-quantity due-process jury-trial sentencing-guidelines sixth-amendment statutory-maximum Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the district court's drug-quantity determination that exceeded the statutory-maximum based solely on t…
20-6108 Antoine Washington v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-10-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 burrage-precedent burrage-v-united-states but-for but-for-causation causation causation-standard criminal-law drug-sentencing forensic-pathology statutory-interpretation Whether the 'special rule' exception to but-for causation is inapplicable to a 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) enhancement
20-5628 Javier Corona-Verduzco v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-09-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP based on the plain text of the statute without relying on extratextual sources of author 21-usc-841 drug-felony extratextual-sources first-step-act imprisonment-term plain-text plain-text-analysis plain-text-interpretation sentencing-enhancement serious-drug-felony statutory-interpretation Whether the phrase 'served a term of imprisonment of more than 12 months' in the First Step Act unambiguously allows a defendant to sustain two 'serio…
19-8445 Freddie Lee Curry, aka King of da Hood, aka Rat v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-05-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 alleyne alleyne-ruling criminal-procedure drug-quantity fair-sentencing-act first-step-act mandatory-minimum sentence-reduction sentencing statutory-interpretation Did the District Court abused its discretion when it failed to to apply Alleyne to Appellant's sentence reduction under Section 404(b) of the First St…
19-8333 Nekhent Supreme Ali, aka William Sean Perry, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-04-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 criminal-procedure criminal-statute currency-conversion drug-proceeds drug-weight due-process sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether federal courts are required to use the lowest drug present in the defendant's instant offense when converting currency drug proceeds into drug…
19-7952 Michael Deon Thompson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-03-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 criminal-law criminal-statute drug-distribution drug-trafficking proximate-cause sentencing serious-bodily-injury statutory-interpretation strict-liability Whether the language 'death or serious bodily injury results from' in 21 U.S.C. § 841 creates a strict liability crime, without a foreseeability or pr…
19-7057 Johnny L. Shelton v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-12-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 21-usc-846 conspiracy controlled-substance criminal-penalty drug-conspiracy drug-trafficking fifth-amendment inchoate-crime sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether the 'death results' enhanced penalty provisions of 21 U.S.C. §841(b)(1)(C) apply to a prosecution for the inchoate crime of conspiracy to comm…
19-6378 Raymond Gentile v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-10-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 21-usc-846 criminal-justice-system due-process equal-protection federal-statute geographic-classification geographic-disparity geographic-location marijuana-legalization marijuana-offenses prima-facie prima-facie-claim prosecutorial-discretion selective-prosecution Is geographic location an arbitrary classification in the application of prosecutorial decisions for marijuana-related offenses under 21 U.S.C §§ 841 …
19-5928 Marcos Santiago v. United States Third Circuit 2019-09-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 civil-rights criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process first-step-act retroactive-application retroactivity sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether Congress' decision to make the retroactive application of the First Step Act fully retroactive creates a significant risk that thousands of pr…
18-9772 William Jerome Howard, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-06-24 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 21-usc-841 cocaine-possession controlled-substance-offense criminal-law drug-offenses federal-sentencing federal-sentencing-guidelines felony-drug-offense florida florida-drug-law mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation ussg-4b1.2 Whether the Florida offenses of sale of cocaine under Fla. Stat. § 893.13(1)(a)(1) and possession of cocaine under Fla. Stat. § 893.13(6)(a) are 'felo…
18-9574 Fayez Abu-Aish v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-06-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 21-usc-846 conspiracy controlled-substance criminal-intent distribution drug-distribution mcfadden-precedent specific-knowledge statutory-interpretation Whether the Government must prove that a defendant had specific knowledge of a controlled substance identified as XLR-11 in order to convict the defen…
18-8587 In Re Christopher Stegawski 2019-03-27 Denied IFP 21-cfr-1306.04 21-usc-802 21-usc-841 allocution chronic-pain-treatment cross-examination due-process fair-trial ineffective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-counsel medical-expert strickland-standard strickland-v-washington trial-fairness united-states-v-moore witness-testimony Was the trial fair when key defense witnesses were not investigated pretrial, court denied Defendant's request to cross examine government medical exp…
18-1064 In Re Octavious DeMont Williams 2019-02-13 Denied 21-usc-841 burden-of-proof constitutional-due-process constitutional-rights controlled-substance criminal-procedure due-process elements-of-crime fifth-amendment judicial-misconduct jury jury-finding jury-trial Octavious Demont Williams petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that his constitutional due process was violated when he was deprived of the…
18-7388 David Romo v. Ray Ormond, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-01-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-802(44) 21-usc-841 categorical-analysis categorical-approach congressional-intent due-process felony-drug-offense recidivist-clause recidivist-enhancement statutory-interpretation vagueness Whether the intent of Congress was to restrict the application of 21 U.S.C. § 841's recidivist enhancement to prior drug trafficking crimes that quali…
18-6413 Joshua Jackson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-23 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 21-usc-841 controlled-substances conviction criminal-adjudication criminal-law due-process federal-statute recidivism sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation youthful-offender Is an Alabama youthful-offender adjudication a 'conviction' for purposes of sentencing enhancement under 21 U.S.C § 841(b)(1)(A)?
18-5957 Raul Arcila v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-09-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 criminal-procedure drug-statute due-process evidentiary-issues jury-evidence jury-instructions plain-error proximate-cause sentencing-factor unfair-prejudice Whether the District Court committed plain error by allowing the government to convert a sentencing factor into a proximate cause element
18-5654 Willie Lee Daniels v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-08-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 collateral-review constitutional-challenge controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law descamps-v-united-states mathis-v-united-states montgomery-v-louisiana retroactivity retroactivity-of-new-rules sentencing sentencing-enhancement Whether Mathis v. United States is retroactive to cases on collateral review