Opinion ID: 755847
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Applicable Mandatory Minimum

Text: 5 Holt argues that his sentence violates the Double Jeopardy Clause. He reasons that when the district court accepted his guilty plea to count three of the indictment with its reference to 841(b)(1)(B), jeopardy attached to that offense. 6 The Double Jeopardy Clause provides: [N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. U.S. Const. amend. V. Application of 841(b)(1)(B) to Holt's case does no violence to this principle because neither 841(b)(1)(A) nor 841(b)(1)(B) describes a substantive offense; they are merely sentence-enhancement statutes. See United States v. Wood, 834 F.2d 1382, 1390 (8th Cir.1987). The substantive offense to which jeopardy attached is conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). The drug quantity is not an essential element of that offense. See United States v. Luster, 896 F.2d 1122, 1126 (8th Cir.1990). We find that the district court's sentencing under 841(b)(1)(B) was therefore appropriate. 7