Opinion ID: 701777
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sasson's Sentence

Text: 35
36 Sasson argues that his Fifth Amendment right to due process was violated when the district court used the gross weight of the Dilaudid tablets, rather than the weight of the hydromorphone contained in the tablets, to calculate his sentence. We review Sasson's due process challenge de novo because it involves a pure legal question. United States v. Tucker, 20 F.3d 242, 243 (7th Cir.1994). Sasson does not contest that this Circuit and six other Circuits have interpreted the statutory scheme, see 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b)(1)(C), as well as the Sentencing Guidelines, to authorize calculation of sentences based on the gross weight of Dilaudid tablets. See, e.g., Lacour, 32 F.3d 1157 (interpreting 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b)(1)(C); holding that a defendant's sentence should be based on the gross weight of Dilaudid tablets); United States v. Crowell, 9 F.3d 1452, 1454 (9th Cir.1993) (stating that the general Guideline principle under U.S.S.G. Sec. 2D1.1 is that drug quantity includes the entire weight of any mixture containing a detectable amount of controlled substance; holding that the gross weight of Dilaudid tablets, rather than the weight of the active ingredient contained in the tablets, is the proper measure of drug quantity), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 138, 130 L.Ed.2d 79 (1994); see also United States v. Landers, 39 F.3d 643, 647 (6th Cir.1994) (collecting cases); United States v. Blythe, 944 F.2d 356, 363 (7th Cir.1991) (holding that it was not plain error to calculate defendant's sentence based on the gross weight of Dilaudid tablets). 37 Instead, Sasson argues that the sentencing scheme lacks rational basis and leads to arbitrary punishment because Dilaudid tablets are manufactured with different doses of hydromorphone, a Schedule II controlled substance, see 21 U.S.C. Sec. 812, and neither the comparative harmfulness of the drug, the scope of its distribution, nor its dollar value can be determined by the gross weight. Sasson continues his due process argument stating that the penalty scheme is irrational because those selling different quantities of the active component, and therefore, with different degrees of culpability, will be subject to the same sentence range. 38 Besides the fact that Sasson's arguments mirror those already rejected by this court, as well as other circuits, in the context of statutory and guideline interpretations, the Supreme Court has rejected a similar Fifth Amendment challenge. 11 In Chapman v. United States, 500 U.S. 453, 111 S.Ct. 1919, 114 L.Ed.2d 524 (1991), a case involving lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the Supreme Court held that a sentencing scheme that calculates a defendant's sentence according to the combined weight of the active ingredient and its carrier medium (such as blotter paper) is rational and does not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. In considering the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which was intended to punish severely large-volume drug traffickers at any level, the Court found that Congress had a rational basis in assigning more severe penalties to the distribution of larger quantities of drugs regardless of their purity. 12 Id. at 464-65, 111 S.Ct. at 1927-28. This is as true with respect to LSD as it is with respect to other drugs. Id. Although the controlled substance at issue in Chapman, namely LSD, was not sold by weight, but by dose, and did not have a carrier medium that diluted the drugs, the Court found that Congress can nevertheless include the weight of the medium in the drug quantity because the medium is used to facilitate the distribution of the drug. Id. at 465, 111 S.Ct. at 1928 (stating that [the carrier medium] is a tool of the trade for those who traffic in the drug, and therefore it was rational for Congress to set penalties based on this chosen tool.). The Court also noted that by setting penalties according to the gross weight of the drugs, Congress reasonably sought to avoid arguments about the accurate weight of pure drugs. Id. 39 Chapman applies with equal force to the case at bar. Although unlike street drugs, Dilaudid is prepared by manufacturers, and could not be diluted by drug dealers to create more sales, the distinction has no legal significance--the purpose of the gross-weight rule was not to protect consumers of illegal drugs from being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who would sell them a product more diluted than they have bargained for. Crowell, 9 F.3d at 1454; United States v. Shabazz, 933 F.2d 1029, 1032 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied sub nom., McNeil v. United States, 502 U.S. 964, 112 S.Ct. 431, 116 L.Ed.2d 451 (1991). Sasson made the choice of using the tablets to distribute hydromorphone, and the inert ingredients in the tablets, regardless of their quantity, serve to facilitate such distribution, justifying their inclusion in the drug quantity. See Crowell, 9 F.3d at 1454. As we have stated before, [d]istributors pick their poison. The penalties are plain for all to see. They decide what drug to peddle, on what medium. Marshall, 908 F.2d at 1325. Congress is not required to adopt a criminal code with all possibility for unjust variation extirpated, and [c]riminals have no constitutional right to equal or entirely proportional treatment. Id. 40 Moreover, Dilaudid presents an even more compelling case for inclusion than LSD because its active ingredient, hydromorphone, is diffused throughout the tablets and cannot be easily separated from the carrier medium. See Physicians' Desk Reference 413 (45th ed. 1991) (illustrating tablets); Shabazz, 933 F.2d at 1032. To arrive at the accurate weight of pure drugs would require courts to involve themselves with the details of dilution ratios and carrier mediums, a situation Congress justifiably sought to avoid. Constitutional law is not a device allowing judges to get involved in prescribing drug ratios and setting the just price of crimes. Marshall, 908 F.2d at 1326; see also United States v. Rose, 881 F.2d 386, 388 (7th Cir.1989) (The Constitution has not been interpreted to require that the pattern of punishments for different federal crimes compose a harmonious whole.... It has never been considered a feasible judicial undertaking to rationalize, to codify--realistically, to rewrite--the federal criminal code in order to make it the product of a single mind, or of a single overarching conception of rational punishment....). Once a defendant's guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt at a criminal trial conducted in accordance with the relevant constitutional guarantees, the court must impose whatever punishment that is authorized by statute for his offense, so long as the penalty is not based on an arbitrary distinction. 13 See Chapman, 500 U.S. at 465, 111 S.Ct. at 1927-28. The sentencing scheme of using the gross weight of Dilaudid tablets to calculate a defendant's sentence has a rational basis and is not arbitrary. The district court properly imposed a term of imprisonment based on the sentencing scheme authorized by the relevant statutes and guideline provisions. Accordingly, we will not disturb the 150 month prison term. 41
42 Finally, Sasson challenges the district court's imposition of a ten year term of supervised release. The government concedes that under Sec. 5D1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines, Sasson should have been given a supervised release term of no more than five years. The district court failed to elucidate its reasoning for imposing the ten-year term. Based upon the record before us which is barren of an explanation for the upward departure, we are of the opinion that the length of the term of Sasson's supervised release was unauthorized. Sasson's offense involved both Schedule II and Schedule III controlled substances. The statute provides for a term of supervised release of at least 3 years or 2 years depending on whether the controlled substance is in Schedule II or III. See 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b)(1)(C) & (D). Under Sec. 5D1.2 of the sentencing guidelines, if a defendant is convicted under a statute that requires a term of supervised release, the term shall be at least three years but not more than five years, or the minimum period required by statute, whichever is greater. Thus, the maximum supervised release term Sasson could receive under U.S.S.G. Sec. 5D1.2, and consistent with the statutory sections, is five years. A term of ten years, therefore, was an upward departure from the guidelines, requiring advance notice to the defendant and explanation for the departure. See Burns v. United States, 501 U.S. 129, 138-39, 111 S.Ct. 2182, 2187, 115 L.Ed.2d 123 (1991); United States v. Amaechi, 991 F.2d 374, 379 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2980, 125 L.Ed.2d 677 (1993); United States v. Pico, 966 F.2d 91, 92 (2d Cir.1992). See also 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3553(b) & (c)(2) (when departing from the guidelines, the district court is required to state in open court ... the specific reason for the imposition of a sentence different from that described.). Neither notice nor adequate explanation on the record was given by the district court for this aspect of the sentence. We, therefore, remand this matter to the district court for resentencing. See Amaechi, 991 F.2d at 379. Should the district court find circumstances justifying an upward departure, it remains free to do so on remand by giving notice to the defendant of its intent to depart and by setting forth the reasoning for the departure on the record. See id.; Pico, 966 F.2d at 92; 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3553.