drug-statute
26 cases — ← All topics
| Case | Title | Lower Court | Docketed | Status | Flags | Tags | Question Presented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-597 | Donatus Iriele v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2025-11-21 | Denied | Response Waived | constitutional-rights criminal-procedure drug-statute jury-instructions reasonable-doubt subjective-knowledge | Donatus Iriele was indicted for violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) based on a superseding indictment that failed to allege a knowing violation of the st… |
| 25-5913 | Rashun Rafael Suncar v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2025-10-20 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-court-judgment circuit-split controlled-substances drug-statute federal-interpretation state-law-interpretation | 1a. Whether a court of appeals may disregard an unpublished but considered judgment of Pennsylvania's intermediate appellate court interpreting its ow… |
| 24A591 | Fernando Lopez-Armenta v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2024-12-17 | Presumed Complete | criminal-conviction drug-statute federal-statute jury-instructions ninth-circuit sufficiency-of-evidence | In a criminal case in which the only defense raised is that the defendant is guilty of a lesser included offense, does the 14th Amendment's guarantee … | |
| 23-959 | Colin Montague v. United States | Second Circuit | 2024-03-04 | GVR | Amici (4) | circuit-split controlled-substances criminal-charging criminal-law drug-statute due-process federal-procedure indictment indictment-sufficiency statutory-interpretation | The question presented, over which there is an open split between the Second and Third Circuits, is whether an indictment charging a violation of 21 U… |
| 22-7869 | Kendall Demarko Wysinger, aka Demarko, aka D v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2023-06-26 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appeals conspiracy court-of-appeals criminal-appeal criminal-law drug-statute human-trafficking life-imprisonment mandatory-sentencing sentencing statutory-interpretation | L. Whether The Court Of Appeals Erred By Refusing To Reverse Wysinger's Conviction On Count One For Conspiracy To Violate 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)(1) (Lawy… |
| 22-7282 | David William Linder v. Brian Lammer, Warden | Seventh Circuit | 2023-04-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | analogue-drugs controlled-substances criminal-procedure drug-statute federal-cases jury-instructions mens-rea standing supreme-court-rule-14.1(b) | Can the drug death statute, 21 § 841(b)(1)(C) be enlarged to include analogue drugs? Can a McFadden review of a defendant's mens rea be performed by … |
| 21-8116 | Demarco Tempo v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2022-06-10 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | but-for-causation causation criminal-law death-enhancement drug-statute due-process jury-instructions pinkerton-liability proximate-cause sentencing statutory-interpretation | I. Should the government be required to prove proximate cause in addition to but-for causation for the "death results" enhancement in 21 U.S.C. § 841?… |
| 21-6592 | Donald Stanley v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2021-12-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-law drug-statute mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums mens-rea ninth-circuit-precedent rehaif-v-united-states sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction statutory-interpretation | Whether the knowingly mens rea in 21 U.S.C. § 841 applies to the elements of drug type and quantity that establish mandatory minimum and enhanced maxi… |
| 21-5997 | Jeremiah Ybarra v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2021-10-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure drug-statute due-process effective-counsel fifth-amendment grand-jury indictment jurisdiction prosecutorial-misconduct sixth-amendment | WHETHER APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO A GRAND JURY PRESENTMENT OR INDICTMENT WHETHER APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIG… |
| 20-6153 | Jurmaine A. Jeffries v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-10-28 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-law drug-statute drug-trafficking proximate-causation proximate-cause rule-of-lenity sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | Whether the "death enhancement" of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) requires proximate causation when the statute's language is ambiguous - triggering the rul… |
| 20-5457 | Dennis A. Smith v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-08-24 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | career-offender criminal-law drug-statute first-step-act predicate-offense sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | Whether the Court of Appeals incorrectly determined that the Ohio Revised Code §2925.03(A)(2) dealing with preparation for shipment or preparation for… |
| 20-5041 | Justin L. Sain v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-07-13 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | alleyne-standard Alleyne-v-United-States burden-of-proof criminal-sentencing drug-statute federal-drug-statute mandatory-minimum Mullaney-v-Wilbur safety-valve | The "safety valve," 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) is a federal statute that, in combination with the federal drug statute, 21 U.S.C. § 841, determines whether a… |
| 19-774 | Marcus Terrelle Marsh v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2019-12-17 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (3) | armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach criminal-sentencing drug-distribution drug-statute federal-sentencing predicate-offense state-law statutory-interpretation | Whether a state drug statute that lists a variety of means by which it can be violated, including purchasing, which does not meet the definition of a … |
| 19-6939 | Anthony Scott Hunt v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2019-12-13 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | base-offense-level categorical-approach controlled-substance-offense divisibility drug-statute modified-categorical-approach predicate-offense sentencing-guidelines u.s.s.g-§-4b1.2(b) u.s.s.g.-§-2k2.1(a)(4)(a) u.s.s.g.-§-4b1.2(b) | WHETHER A STATE DRUG STATUTE, THAT IS EITHER COMPLETELY INDIVISIBLE OR AT MOST ONLY DIVISIBLE INTO NO MORE THAN THREE GENERALLY SEPARATE OFFENSES, ALL… |
| 19-6885 | Antonio Escobar v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-12-09 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offenses drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa-v-united-states fourth-amendment mens-rea statutory-interpretation traffic-stop | 1. Whether, in light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), and Alleyne v. United … |
| 19-6348 | Billy J. Griffin v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2019-10-23 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | career-offender controlled-substances divisibility drug-statute federal-sentencing felony-convictions missouri-law state-convictions statutory-interpretation | Question 1. Is the Missouri Controlled Drug Statue indivisible such that the Defendant's two distribution of marijuana felony convictions in state cou… |
| 19-6318 | Damon Tracy Locke v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2019-10-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | career-offender circuit-split controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-sentencing drug-statute drug-statutes mathis-precedent mathis-v-united-states plain-error sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation | Is the Eighth Circuit interpretation and application of drug statutes as qualifying offenses for career offender status in opposition to Mathis v. Uni… |
| 19-6282 | Aldo Salazar-Martinez v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-10-17 | Denied | IFP | alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-offenses drug-statute due-process federal-criminal-code flores-figueroa-v-united-states mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation strict-liability | Whether, in light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), and Alleyne v. United Sta… |
| 18-9699 | Jose Garcia v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-06-18 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | alleyne alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation strict-liability | I. In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally" mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) … |
| 18-8584 | Antwan Jones v. United States | Seventh Circuit | 2019-03-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy constitutional-challenge criminal-conspiracy criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-statute due-process federal-indictment federal-jurisdiction mens-rea statutory-interpretation statutory-vagueness title-21-usc-846 vagueness | I. Count 1 Conspiracy Indictment is insufficient on its face because it omitted essential element(s) that the Government had to prove. (a). Is Title … |
| 18-8360 | Fernando Castillo-Quintanilla v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-03-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | alleyne alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa flores-figueroa-v-united-states mens-rea rehaif sentencing strict-liability | I. In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally" mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) … |
| 18-851 | Bryan Christopher Marshall v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2019-01-04 | Denied | Response Waived | armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach criminal-sentencing drug-distribution drug-statute due-process federal-law first-amendment law-enforcement predicate-offense sentencing speech-protection statutory-interpretation | 1. Whether a state drug statute that lists a variety of means by which it can be violated, including one which does not meet the definition of a drug … |
| 18-6707 | Alberto Jair Proa-Dominguez v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2018-11-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offenses drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa-v-united-states mens-rea statutory-interpretation strict-liability | L In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally' mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) a… |
| 18-5957 | Raul Arcila v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2018-09-12 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 21-usc-841 criminal-procedure drug-statute due-process evidentiary-issues jury-evidence jury-instructions plain-error proximate-cause sentencing-factor unfair-prejudice | Whether the District Court committed plain error by allowing the government to convert a sentencing factor, "resulting in death," under 21 USC §841(b)… |
| 18-5809 | Robert Carl Sharp v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2018-08-29 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | analogue-drugs controlled-substances criminal-intent criminal-law drug-statute drug-testing knowledge-requirement knowledge-standard mens-rea willful-blindness | Can recklessness or negligence amount to willful blindness? Can a defendant be found to be willfully blind because he failed to test a drug when test… |
| 18-5321 | Salvador Ortiz-Uresti v. United States | Third Circuit | 2018-07-23 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | categorical-approach circuit-split colorado-drug-statute criminal-law divisibility drug-statute federal-predicate federal-sentencing immigration-consequences nationwide-impact sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | When deciding whether a conviction under Colorado's primary drug statute qualifies as a federal predicate for an increased sentence, should a court tr… |