United States v. Miles

18 F. App'x 197
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit·Decided September 17, 2001·No. 99-4140, 99-4154, 99-4155, 99-4156, 99-4157, 99-4701·Unpublished·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

A jury convicted Terrance Miles, Derrick Clark, Darryl Griffin, Eric Golett, Kenny Holton, and Carlos White (collectively, “Appellants”) of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. *199 § 846 (West 1999). The jury also convicted Clark of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 841 (West 1999 & Supp. 2001). Griffin pled guilty to possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) (1994). The district court sentenced Appellants to terms of imprisonment ranging from 292 months to life imprisonment. Appellants raise a number of challenges to their convictions and sentences and have moved for additional briefing. We deny Appellants’ motion. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand for resentencing.

I.

Appellants contend that the district court erred in denying their request for a special verdict form and that they should have been sentenced based on the drug carrying the lowest statutory penalty— marijuana. As support for their claim, Appellants rely on United States v. Rhynes, 196 F.3d 207 (4th Cir.1999), vacated in part on other grounds, 218 F.3d 310 (4th Cir.) (en banc), and cert. denied, 530 U.S. 1222, 120 S.Ct. 2234, 147 L.Ed.2d 263 (2000).

After reviewing the indictment, which charged Appellants with conspiring to distribute or possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana, and the court’s instructions to the jury, we find that Appellants’ arguments are foreclosed by our recent decision in United States v. Cotton, 261 F.3d 397, 401-03 (4th Cir.2001) (holding that “there is no Rhynes error because the jury was unambiguously instructed that a conspiracy conviction could be based only upon a finding — as charged by the government in the indictment — that appellants conspired to distribute or possessed with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and cocaine base”). Furthermore, our review of the record leads us to conclude that the evidence supports a construction of the verdict that the jury based the conspiracy conviction on crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana. Id. Thus, because the jury verdict was unambiguous, we find that “the district court did not err in sentencing appellants based upon the relevant penalty provisions for cocaine base.” Id.

II.

While Appellants’ appeal was pending, the Supreme Court decided Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000) (holding that “[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt”). Because Appellants did not rely on an Ap prendi-type argument in the district court, our review is for plain error. See United States v. Promise, 255 F.3d 150, 154 (4th Cir.2001) (en banc) (discussing plain error standard of review).

In applying Apprendi to drug offenses in §§ 841 and 846, we recently held in Promise that “the specific threshold [drug] quantity must be treated as an element of an aggravated drug trafficking offense, ie., charged in the indictment and proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 156-57 (footnotes omitted). Here, drug quantity was not charged in the indictment or submitted to the jury. We therefore find that there was error and that the error was plain. Id. at 156-57, 160.

With regard to whether the plain error affected Griffin’s substantial rights, we find that it did not. Griffin was convicted of multiple counts — conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana, and *200 possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun. Griffin was exposed to a total statutory maximum prison term of thirty years. United States v. Angle, 254 F.3d 514, 518-19 (4th Cir.2001) (en banc); United States v. White, 238 F.3d 537, 542-43 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 121 S.Ct. 2235, 150 L.Ed.2d 225 (2001); see 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(b)(1)(C) (providing for maximum sentence of twenty years for conviction involving unspecified amount of drugs); 26 U.S.C. § 5871 (1994) (providing for ten-year statutory maximum for possession of unregistered shotgun). Because Griffin’s 292-month sentence did not exceed the thirty-year statutory maximum, we find that Griffin cannot “demonstrate that [his] sentence is ‘longer than that to which he would otherwise be subject.’” Cotton, 261 F.3d at 403-04 (quoting Angle, 254 F.3d at 518).

Unlike Griffin, we find that the plain error affected Miles’, Holton’s, Golett’s, and White’s substantial rights. Because a specific threshold drug quantity was not charged in the indictment and submitted to the jury, the maximum sentence to which Miles, Golett, Holton, and White were subject was twenty years. See Promise, 255 F.3d at 157; 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(b)(1)(C). Because Golett’s 292-month sentence, Miles’ 324 month sentence, Holton’s 360-month sentence, and White’s life sentence exceeded the twenty-year statutory maximum, we find that the error affected these Defendants’ substantial rights. Promise, 255 F.3d at 160. We also find that Clark’s substantial rights were affected because his 360 month sentence exceeded the twenty-five-year statutory maximum to which he was subject on his two drug convictions. Angle, 254 F.3d at 518-19; White, 238 F.3d at 542-43; see 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(b)(1)(C); 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(b)(1)(D) (providing for five-year maximum for offense involving up to fifty kilograms of marijuana).

Having concluded that there was plain error that affected the substantial rights of Miles, Holton, Golett, White, and Clark, we exercise our discretion to notice the error in their sentences. The indictment charged Appellants with conspiring to distribute an unspecified quantity of crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana, see 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(b)(1)(C), but Miles, Golett, Holton, White, and Clark “received a sentence for a crime — an aggravated drug trafficking offense under section 841(b)(1)(A) — with which they were neither

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