United States v. Randall Hoyt Shaw

920 F.2d 1225, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 50, 1991 WL 109
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 3, 1991
Docket90-8238
StatusPublished
Cited by88 cases

This text of 920 F.2d 1225 (United States v. Randall Hoyt Shaw) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth 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. Randall Hoyt Shaw, 920 F.2d 1225, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 50, 1991 WL 109 (5th Cir. 1991).

Opinion

CLARK, Chief Judge:

I.

Randall Shaw appeals his conviction and sentence for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841. We affirm in all respects except as to the sentence of 72 months imprisonment. That sentence is vacated and the cause is remanded with directions to impose a sentence of 71 months imprisonment.

II.

On November 3, 1989 the Waco Police Department learned that two individuals were distributing amphetamines from room 46 of the Astro Motel in Waco, Texas. The police officers obtained a warrant in State court. Room 46 had been rented by Randall Shaw. When officers in the special operations unit entered the room Shaw was in the room with Pam Brunson. Brun-son was by the bed and Shaw was sitting at a table located by the bed, working with a knife on various items spread out on the table. Numerous quantities of methamphetamine, cash, and drug distribution paraphernalia were found on and beside the table. One of the officers heard Brunson tell Shaw, “Tell them everything is yours. I can’t afford to go down again.” A stun gun was found in the car outside Shaw’s room.

Shaw was initially charged with a state offense but was later indicted in federal court for possession with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). A jury found Shaw guilty as charged. Shaw was sentenced under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(l)(B)(viii). Orally, the trial judge imposed a sentence of 71 months imprisonment (along with a fine and period of supervised release) but the court’s written judgment fixed Shaw’s imprisonment at 72 months.

III.

Shaw raises eight claims on appeal. First, he claims that he was convicted of violating a statute which is unconstitutional because it includes two inconsistent penalty schemes for the same offense. Second, Shaw argues that the search warrant issued and executed by State officials is not sufficient to support the introduction of evidence in federal court. Third, he claims that evidence should have been excluded because the government failed to establish an adequate chain of custody. Fourth, Shaw asserts that there was insufficient evidence to convict him. Fifth, he argues that the district court erred in not granting him a continuance when an important witness became unavailable. Sixth, the district court erred in not allowing Shaw to post bond pending appeal. Seventh, Shaw claims that the district court erred in sentencing him under a version of the Sentencing Guidelines that became effective only two days before he was arrested. Finally, Shaw claims the district court erred in imposing a different sentence in its written judgment from that imposed at the sentencing hearing. Only Shaw’s eighth claim has merit.

A. Inconsistent Penalty Scheme

Shaw complains that the district court erred by not dismissing his indictment since the statute under which he was indicted was unconstitutional. In particular he urges that 21 U.S.C. § 841 violates his Fifth Amendment due process right because it provides two “inconsistent” and “irreconcilable” penalty schemes for the same offense. He further argues that the penalty provisions are “void for vagueness.” Under the current version of § 841, different mandatory minimum sentences are provided for a person convicted of possessing “100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.” Subsection (b)(l)(A)(viii) provides a prison term of from not less than 10 years to life imprisonment while subsection (b)(l)(B)(viii) provides a prison term of not less than five years or *1228 more than forty years. 1 Shaw was convicted of possessing 117.84 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine. Thus he falls squarely within the ambit of both sentencing provisions.

The government acknowledges that these two sentencing provisions are inconsistent when viewed in isolation. However, the government argues, citing extensive examples, that when viewed in the context of the statute as a whole and in relation to the overall penalty scheme provided for controlled substances and the legislative history of the statute, the inconsistency appears to be a clerical or drafting error. The government maintains that subsection (b)(l)(A)(viii) was intended to apply to higher quantities and purer mixtures of methamphetamine.

When an appellant claims that the district court incorrectly applied constitutional standards, we review the claim de novo. American Civil Liberties Union v. State of Mississippi, 911 F.2d 1066, 1069 (5th Cir.1990). Since Shaw argues that the district court failed to declare the sentencing provisions of § 841 unconstitutional, we likewise review his claim de novo.

“It is a fundamental tenet of due process that ‘[n]o one may be required at peril of life, liberty or property to speculate as to the meaning of penal statutes’ ” United States v. Batchelder, 442 U.S. 114, 123, 99 S.Ct. 2198, 2203, 60 L.Ed.2d 755 (1979) (quoting Lanzetta v. New Jersey, 306 U.S. 451, 453, 59 S.Ct. 618, 619, 83 L.Ed. 888 (1939)). The courts have long held that statutes, which fail to give notice to “persons of normal intelligence” that their intended actions are illegal, violate due process. United States v. Harriss, 347 U.S. 612, 617, 74 S.Ct. 808, 812, 98 L.Ed. 989 (1954). Likewise, sentencing provisions may violate due process “if they do not state with sufficient clarity the consequences of violating a given criminal statute.” Batchelder, 442 U.S. at 123, 99 S.Ct. at 2203. However, equally applicable or overlapping sentencing provisions satisfy the notice requirements of the Due Process Clause so long as they clearly define the “conduct prohibited and the punishment authorized.” Id.

In this case one applicable provision mandates a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years, § 841(b)(l)(A)(viii), while the other applicable sentencing provision allows imposition of a sentence of as little as five years imprisonment. While these provisions are facially inconsistent, they unambiguously give notice that possession of more than 100 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine will result in incarceration for at least five years. We need not examine the merits of Shaw’s due process claim since it is evident from the record that Shaw lacks standing to assert it.

Shaw moved to dismiss his indictment based on the same due process claim in the district court that he presses here.

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Bluebook (online)
920 F.2d 1225, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 50, 1991 WL 109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-randall-hoyt-shaw-ca5-1991.