Opinion ID: 76818
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Supreme Court Cases and Sentencing Guidelines' Amendment 488

Text: 32 In 1991, in Chapman, the Supreme Court held that the phrase mixture or substance containing.... LSD in Section 841(b)(1) refers to the weight of the carrier medium upon which the drug is mounted. Chapman, 111 S.Ct. at 1929. Two years later, the sentencing commission promulgated an amendment to the guidelines, reducing the penalties for trafficking in carrier-mounted LSD by calculating base offense levels, not at the weight of the LSD plus carrier medium as in Chapman, but by using a standard dosage formula of 0.4 mg. per dose of LSD (amendment 488). See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c), n. (H). 33 In 1996, in Neal, the Supreme Court held that, when calculating penalties under the statute, amendment 488 does not overcome Chapman 's definition of mixture or substance, and principles of stare decisis require that it adhere to its earlier decision in Chapman. Neal, 116 S.Ct. at 766. In sum, the sentencing commission has no authority to amend the penalty statute, the guidelines' calculation is independent of the statutory calculation, and the statute controls if they conflict. Id. at 768. 8 The sentencing commission's dose-based method cannot be squared with Chapman. Id.