United States v. Phifer

909 F.3d 372
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 21, 2018
DocketNo. 17-10397
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 909 F.3d 372 (United States v. Phifer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Phifer, 909 F.3d 372 (11th Cir. 2018).

Opinions

ROSENBAUM, Circuit Judge:

There's no easy way around it. We're just going to have to science the heck out of this case.1 And when we're done with that, we're going to have to law the heck out of it.

*375Defendant-Appellant Jason Alexander Phifer was convicted of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). The substance involved was ethylone.

But as it turns out, ethylone constitutes a controlled substance-and Phifer was therefore convicted of an existing crime-only if ethylone is a "positional isomer" of butylone. Phifer says it's not. To support his position, he urges that "positional isomer" means what he characterizes as the scientific term of art. The Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") disagrees and contends that its regulatory definition of "positional isomer" governs, and even if it doesn't, ethylone is a positional isomer of butylone under other scientific definitions. If the DEA is right that the regulatory definition necessarily governs, Phifer's conviction stands. But if not, we must set aside Phifer's conviction.

After careful consideration and a crash course in organic chemistry, we conclude that the DEA's regulatory definition of "positional isomer" does not unambiguously apply to the use of that term as it pertains to butylone and ethylone in this case. We therefore vacate Phifer's conviction and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I.

The Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 801 - 971 ("CSA" or "Act"), established five schedules of controlled substances, which the CSA regulates or prohibits. Touby v. United States , 500 U.S. 160, 162, 111 S.Ct. 1752, 114 L.Ed.2d 219 (1991) ; see 21 U.S.C. § 812. The Act assigns to the Attorney General the task of adding substances to the schedules. Touby , 500 U.S. at 162, 111 S.Ct. 1752 ; 21 U.S.C. § 811(a). But before the Attorney General may do so, he or she must follow certain procedures, including engaging in notice-and-comment rule-making, that typically require six to twelve months to complete. Touby , 500 U.S. at 163, 111 S.Ct. 1752 ; see 21 U.S.C. §§ 811(a) - (c), 877.

Because of that time lag, by the time a specific chemical formulation of a given drug was scheduled, people were able to design and sell drugs that behaved similarly to that substance but differed slightly in chemical composition, without risk of criminal liability. Touby , 500 U.S. at 163, 111 S.Ct. 1752. To address this problem, Congress amended the CSA to allow the Attorney General to place a substance on a schedule on a temporary basis when the Attorney General deems it "necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety." Id. (quoting 21 U.S.C. § 811(h) ) (quotation marks omitted). Under this process, within thirty days after a new drug is identified, a new drug can be added to a schedule on a temporary basis. Id. at 164, 111 S.Ct. 1752.

The Attorney General delegated to the DEA the power to add drugs to the schedules-including the power to schedule controlled substances on a temporary basis. Id. (citing 28 C.F.R. § 0.100(b) (1990) ). Under this authority, in March of 2014, the DEA Administrator issued an order temporarily designating butylone (1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-(methylamino)butan-1-one) as a Schedule I controlled substance. 2 79 Fed. Reg. 12,938-12,943 (Mar. 7, 2014). Substances qualify for Schedule I if they have a "high potential for abuse," "no currently *376accepted medical use in treatment in the United States," and no "accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." 21 U.S.C. § 812(b)(1). Butylone is a synthetic cathinone3

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Bluebook (online)
909 F.3d 372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-phifer-ca11-2018.