2008 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

6-9-2008

USA v. Shields

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential

Docket No. 07-1917

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Recommended Citation

"USA v. Shields" (2008). 2008 Decisions. Paper 1037.

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NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

 

No. 07-1917

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 v.

TERRELL SHIELDS,

 Appellant

 

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

(D.C. Criminal No. 06-cr-00351-02)

District Judge: Honorable John R. Padova

 

Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)

June 6, 2008

Before: FISHER, JORDAN, and VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judges.

(Filed: June 9, 2008)

 

OPINION OF THE COURT

 

VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Terrell Shields pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with the

intent to distribute fifty or more grams of cocaine base (“crack”), in violation of 21
Shields suggests that the mandatory minimum sentence, because it is based on the 1

100:1 ratio, violates his rights to due process and freedom from cruel, unusual, and

disproportionate punishments. See Appellant’s Br. at 5. Shields also suggests that his

sentence is “fundamentally unfair” because it is based on the 100:1 crack-to-powder ratio. 

Id.

2

U.S.C. § 846, and one count of distribution of fifty or more grams of crack, in violation of

21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). On March 19, 2007, Shields was sentenced to 120 months in

prison and a term of five years of supervised release. The sentence Shields received was

the statutory mandatory minimum sentence prescribed for the conduct to which he pled

guilty. On March 28, 2007, Shields filed a timely notice of appeal. On appeal, Shields

argues that sentencing him to a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months, which is

based on the 100:1 crack-to-powder ratio in the Sentencing Guidelines, violated his rights

under the Constitution.1

The District Court had jurisdiction over this matter under 18 U.S.C. § 3231, and

we have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

We have consistently held that neither the mandatory minimum sentences for crack

offenses, which are set forth in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b), nor the 100:1 crack-to-powder ratio

violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments. See

United States v. Frazier, 981 F.2d 92, 96 (3d Cir. 1992) (per curiam). We have also held

that the mandatory minimum sentences and the 100:1 ratio do not violate a defendant’s

right to due process. See United States v. Alton, 60 F.3d 1065, 1068-70 (3d Cir. 1995)

(holding that a rational basis existed for the sentencing scheme relating to crack and
We recently affirmed that the mandatory minimum sentencing scheme and the 2

100:1 ratio remain viable and a component of the sentencing calculation even after the

Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Booker. See United States v. Ricks, 494

F.3d 394, 400-02 (3d Cir. 2007); United States v. Gunter, 462 F.3d 237, 248 (3d Cir.

2006).

To the extent that Shields also challenges the denial of his pre-sentencing motion 3

to disregard the mandatory minimum, we hold that the District Court did not err in

denying the motion.

As we said in Ricks: “There is little disagreement that the 100-to-1 ratio 4

overrepresents the relative harm of crack as compared to powder cocaine. Nevertheless,

it is the role of Congress, and not the courts, to determine what crimes are worse than

others.” See Ricks, 494 F.3d at 400. Because Congress had a rational basis for creating

the scheme it did, the issue of whether punishing crack crimes more harshly than powder

cocaine crimes is “unfair” is for Congress to address. See Alton, 60 F.3d at 1069-70;

3

powder cocaine). Our holdings that neither the mandatory minimum sentence nor the

100:1 ratio violates the Fifth or Eighth Amendments are consistent with the positions

adopted by our sister circuits. See Alton, 60 F.3d at 1069 n.7; see also United States v.

Garcia-Carrasquillo, 483 F.3d 124, 134 (1st Cir. 2007) (noting that “every other circuit

has rejected the argument that the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine

constitutes cruel and unusual punishment” and citing cases from every circuit).2

Given this Court’s precedent and the consistent position taken by our sister circuits

on these issues, we hold that sentencing Shields to the mandatory minimum term of

imprisonment based on his possession and sale of over fifty grams of crack did not

constitute a violation of his right to due process or his right to be free from cruel and

unusual punishment. We further hold that Shields’ sentence is not so fundamentally 3

unfair as to warrant reversal.4
Frazier, 981 F.2d at 95.

4

We have considered all other arguments made by the parties on appeal, and we

conclude that no further discussion is necessary. For the foregoing reasons, we will

affirm the District Court’s sentence.