United States v. Draine

977 F. Supp. 1138, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16878, 1997 WL 625190
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedSeptember 25, 1997
DocketNo. 97-40056-01-RDR
StatusPublished

This text of 977 F. Supp. 1138 (United States v. Draine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Draine, 977 F. Supp. 1138, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16878, 1997 WL 625190 (D. Kan. 1997).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ROGERS, District Judge.

On September 19, 1997, the court held a hearing on the pretrial motions in this case. The purpose of this memorandum and order is to memorialize the rulings made by the court during that hearing.

The defendant is charged in a five-count indictment. Two of the counts are charged in the alternative. In Count 1, he is charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute within 1000 feet of a public school in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 860. In Count 2, which is charged in the alternative to Count 1, he is charged with possession of crack cocaine after a prior drug conviction in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). In Count 3, he is charged with carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense, to wit: possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). In Count 4, which is charged in the alternative to Count 3, he is charged with carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, to wit: possession of crack cocaine after a prior drug conviction, in violation of [1139]*113918 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). In Count 5, he is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).

The court has had some contact with these charges in the past. The court has previously dismissed two indictments against the defendant containing similar charges without prejudice due to violations of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161 et seq. United States v. Draine, No. 97-40030-01, 1997 WL 457519 (D.Kan.7/25/97); United States v. Draine, No. 96-40042-01, 1997 WL 309131 (D.Kan.5/30/97).

MOTION TO REITERATE

In this motion, defendant seeks to reiterate and incorporate the motions filed in the prior cases, including his motions to dismiss for Speedy Trial Act violations. He acknowledges that there does not appear to be an independent Speedy Trial Act violation in this case, but he wants to make clear that he is not waiving any prior arguments on this issue. At the hearing, the defendant suggested that his present circumstances might raise a constitutional speedy trial problem. The defendant provided no legal or factual support for this contention, and we find no merit to it. See United States v. Johnson, 120 F.3d 1107, 1109-10 (10th Cir.1997).

The defendant also wanted to reiterate his previously filed motion to suppress, motion to transport and motion for discovery. For the reasons previously stated, the court shall deny defendant’s motion to suppress and grant his motion to transport. United States v. Draine, No. 96-40042-01 (D.Kan.8/6/96).

As to the motion for discovery, the court has not ruled on this motion. In Case No. 97-40042-01, the defendant filed a motion for production and discovery. In that motion, the defendant sought a variety of materials. The government responded to each request by either agreeing to produce the requested materials, by suggesting that the requested materials were already in the hands of the defendant, or by indicating that it had no such material. At the hearing, the defendant acknowledged that nothing additional was needed. With the responses of the parties, the court shall consider the defendant’s motion moot.

MOTION TO DISMISS COUNT ONE DUE TO INSUFFICIENT FEDERAL JURISDICTION

The defendant seeks dismissal of Count 1 because he contends it is unconstitutional. He argues that 21 U.S.C. § 860 exceeds congressional authority under the Commerce Clause because no link exists between narcotics and interstate commerce. He asks the court to extend the Supreme Court’s reasoning in United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995) to this statute.

The defendant’s argument has been raised in several other courts and rejected. United States v. Henson, 123 F.3d 1226, 1232-1233 (9th Cir.1997); United States v. Jackson, 111 F.3d 101, 102 (11th Cir.1997); United States v. Allen, 106 F.3d 695, 701 (6th Cir.1997); United States v. Hawkins, 104 F.3d 437, 439-40 (D.C.Cir.1997); United States v. Ekinci, 101 F.3d 838, 844 (2d Cir.1996); United States v. McKinney, 98 F.3d 974, 976-80 (7th Cir.1996), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 117 S.Ct. 1119, 137 L.Ed.2d 319 (1997); United States v. Orozco, 98 F.3d 105, 106-07 (3d Cir.1996); see also United States v. Wacker, 72 F.3d 1453, 1475 (10th Cir.1995) (Lopez does not alter prior conclusion that 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) is constitutional because regulation of illegal drugs implicates interstate commerce). For the reasons stated in Henson, we shall also reject the defendant’s argument:

In Lopez the Court made clear that it was not overruling earlier Commerce Clause precedent. Instead, the Court stated that the Gun-Free School Zones Act “represents a sharp break with the longstanding pattern of federal firearms legislation.” Lopez, [514 U.S. at 563] 115 S.Ct. at 1632 (quoting United States v. Lopez, 2 F.3d 1342, 1366 (5th Cir.1993)). The Court explicitly affirmed the long line of cases allowing the federal regulation of intrastate sales that affect interstate commerce the Commerce Clause. Id. [514 U.S. at 551-561, 115 S.Ct.] at 1626-30; see, e.g., Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Ass’n, 452 U.S. 264, 283 [101 S.Ct. 2352, 2363-64, 69 L.Ed.2d 1] (1981) (upholding the regulation of intrastate coal [1140]*1140mining); Perez [v. United States ], 402 U.S. [146] at 156-57 [91 S.Ct. 1357 at 1362-63, 28 L.Ed.2d 686 (1971)] (allowing for the regulation of intrastate loansharking); Wickard v. Filburn,

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Related

United States v. Jackson
111 F.3d 101 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
Wickard v. Filburn
317 U.S. 111 (Supreme Court, 1942)
United States v. Walsh
331 U.S. 432 (Supreme Court, 1947)
Minor v. United States
396 U.S. 87 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Perez v. United States
402 U.S. 146 (Supreme Court, 1971)
United States v. Lopez
514 U.S. 549 (Supreme Court, 1995)
United States v. Roberto Montes-Zarate
552 F.2d 1330 (Ninth Circuit, 1977)
United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr.
2 F.3d 1342 (Fifth Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Zulmes Orozco
98 F.3d 105 (Third Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Larry McKinney
98 F.3d 974 (Seventh Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Fevzi Ekinci
101 F.3d 838 (Second Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Allen R. Hawkins
104 F.3d 437 (D.C. Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Russell B. Allen
106 F.3d 695 (Sixth Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Mary Katherine Johnson
120 F.3d 1107 (Tenth Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Wacker
72 F.3d 1453 (Tenth Circuit, 1995)
Douglas v. Long
661 F.2d 747 (Ninth Circuit, 1981)

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Bluebook (online)
977 F. Supp. 1138, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16878, 1997 WL 625190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-draine-ksd-1997.