(DOWNLOAD) "United States v. Edwards" by In the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: United States v. Edwards
- Author : In the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Release Date : January 11, 2005
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 61 KB
Description
All crack is cocaine base but not all cocaine base is crack. This case presents the question of whether this distinction is meaningful for purposes of the enhanced penalties for cocaine base offenses under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b). The statute prescribes a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years for the manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent to manufacture or distribute 50 grams or more of "cocaine base." 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(iii). The federal Sentencing Guidelines also call for increased penalties, in the form of heightened base offense levels, for crimes involving "cocaine base." See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c). But while the Guidelines define "cocaine base" as "crack" for purposes of the higher penalties, see U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c), Note (D), the statute contains no such limiting definition. The question in this case is whether the mandatory minimum sentence in the statute applies, like the Guidelines, to crack offenses only.