United States v. Knight

63 F. App'x 870
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMay 9, 2003
DocketNo. 01-6391
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 63 F. App'x 870 (United States v. Knight) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Knight, 63 F. App'x 870 (6th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

ROGERS, Circuit Judge.

Defendant, Adam B. Knight, appeals the sentence on his guilty plea, entered pursuant to a plea agreement, to knowingly distributing Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), aided and abetted by a co-defendant, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2 and 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B). He asserts that the decisions in Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 119 S.Ct. 1215, 143 L.Ed.2d 311 (1999), and Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), as well as the later Sixth Circuit decisions in United States v. Ramirez, 242 F.3d 348 (6th Cir.2001), and United States v. Strayhorn, 250 F.3d 462 (6th Cir.2001), render the indictment defective because it failed to allege the drug quantity that the district court relied upon during sentencing. Knight claims that the sentence was therefore imposed for a crime for which he had neither been charged nor found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Harris v. United States, 536 U.S. 545, 122 S.Ct. 2406, 153 L.Ed.2d 524 (2002), shows that these contentions are not well founded, and we therefore AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 22,1999, Knight, and a co-defendant, Kevin W. Vanover, distributed to an undercover police officer 1.3 grams, or 162.5 dosage units, of LSD, for which they were to receive one pound of marijuana. Following an arrest, police officers found in Knight’s possession a Glock 9mm pistol.

An indictment containing four counts was returned against Knight and Vanover on May 2, 2000, charging Knight in Counts One, Two, and Four.1 Count One of the indictment, the count concerning the distribution of LSD, did not include a specific amount of that drug. Knight was arraigned on June 20, 2000, and he entered pleas of not guilty to all counts. During the arraignment the district court advised Knight that he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years of imprisonment if convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B) on Count One of the indictment.

The United States entered into a plea agreement with Knight on February 5, 2001. In this agreement Knight agreed to plead guilty to Counts One and Four of the indictment, and the United States agreed to dismiss Count Two with regard to Knight. The Plea Agreement set forth the penalties applicable to these Counts as follows:

The maximum penalty to which the defendant will be exposed by virtue of his guilty plea on Count One is a minimum mandatory term of five to forty (5-40) years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $2,000,000, at least three (3) years to life of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment. The maximum penalty to which the defendant will be exposed by virtue of his guilty plea on Count Four of the Indictment is a mandatory consecutive term of five (5) years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, up to three (3) years of supervised release, [872]*872and a mandatory $100 special assessment.

During the change of plea hearing that followed, the district court advised Knight of the penalties he faced under the Plea Agreement, and Knight acknowledged on the record that he understood that a minimum mandatory term of imprisonment of five years and a potential term of imprisonment of up to forty years applied to Count One, and that a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of five years applied to Count Four. Nevertheless, Knight went forward with the Plea Agreement.

On March 16, 2001, the Presentence Report (“PSR”) was released to both parties. The PSR recommended a minimum mandatory sentence of five years as to Count One of the indictment. Knight objected to that recommendation, arguing that Ap-prendi required that the threshold amount of LSD must be charged in the indictment in order to sentence under § 841(b)(1)(B), and that when no specific amount of drugs was charged he could only be sentenced under § 841(b)(1)(C), the default provision in the statute.2

The district court overruled the defendant’s objections based on the indictment. Following a second sentencing hearing, the district court imposed the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years under Count One and a consecutive five years as to Count Four. Knight then appealed in a timely manner.

II. ANALYSIS

Knight objected to his sentence in the court below, preserving this issue for appeal, and there is no question of fact in this case. In sentencing challenges, we review legal issues de novo. See United States v. Harper, 246 F.3d 520, 525 (6th Cir.2001); United States v. Lloyd, 10 F.3d 1197, 1220 (6th Cir.1993).

Knight challenges his sentence on the grounds that the indictment failed to allege any particular amount of LSD. He argues that the holding in Apprendi mandates that he can be sentenced only under § 841(b)(1)(C), the default provision in the statute that applies when no amount of drugs is specified. Knight argues the quantity of LSD is a necessary element of the offense that must be charged in the indictment, because the statutory sentencing range for distribution of one gram or more of LSD, five to forty years, is an increased penalty over that for the distribution of an unspecified amount of LSD, which is zero to twenty years. Therefore, Knight argues that he must be re-sentenced according to the lower range of penalties for an unspecified amount of LSD. We reject the defendant’s challenge.

We note preliminarily that even though the indictment failed to include a specific drug amount, the indictment did cite § 841(b)(1)(B), the section of the United States Code that provides for stiffer penalties where a quantity of LSD in excess of 1 gram is involved in the offense. As we have previously held, reference to the appropriate section of the statute provides sufficient notice to the defendant of the charged offense to meet constitutional standards. See United States v. Martinez, 981 F.2d 867, 871-72 (6th Cir.1992); United States v. Burkhart, 682 F.2d 589, 592 (6th Cir.1982). Moreover, even if the indictment had not provided adequate notice to the defendant, Apprendi is inapplicable in situations such as in this case where the defendant has entered into a plea agree[873]

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Related

Knight v. United States
540 U.S. 926 (Supreme Court, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
63 F. App'x 870, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-knight-ca6-2003.