Court Opinion

ID: 9487624
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 12:22:17.790844+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:52:23.789050
License: Public Domain

NYGAARD, Circuit Judge,
concurring and dissenting.
I join in all parts of the majority’s opinion except for part 111(A)(1). Because I believe the majority has adopted the wrong test for determining the purity of methamphetamine, I respectfully dissent from that portion of its opinion.
As the majority recognizes, the Sentencing Guidelines provide two ways for sentencing a defendant convicted of unlawfully manufacturing methamphetamine. Under U.S.S.G. § 2Dl.l(c) cmt. * (1991), the court first looks to “the entire weight of any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of the controlled substance.” Next, the court is instructed to determine the weight of the pure form of the controlled substance contained within the mixture, otherwise known as “methamphetamine (actual).” These weights are then translated into offense levels by use of the Drug Quantity Table, and the higher of the two offense levels is used in determining the appropriate sentence.
The issue here is how much methamphetamine (actual) was contained in the substance manufactured by the defendants. Appellants contend that methamphetamine (actual) means only the amount of pure methamphetamine, free of all impurities, while the government argues that any uncut substance containing methamphetamine is methamphetamine (actual), regardless of its purity. The majority, while acknowledging that both views are supported in the caselaw, concludes that “methamphetamine (actual) refers to the net amount of methamphetamine hydrochloride produced and not the gross amount of uncut methamphetamine.” Majority at 87.
I disagree with this conclusion. Precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine cost money and may be difficult to obtain. Consequently, it is counterin-tuitive to conclude that every rational “cook” would not seek the highest possible yield of methamphetamine hydrochloride from those chemicals. The mere fact that the cook bungles the recipe and produces a sticky, caramel-like substance of low purity, which no user wishes to purchase, should not diminish punishment vis-a-vis the “good” cook whose product is more pure and highly salable.
Moreover, the majority’s holding also places an unwarranted burden upon the government to obtain an enhanced sentence based on the amount of methamphetamine (actual). Under the majority’s rule, the government must now have every sample of methamphetamine analyzed and its purity determined; the mere fact that the drug is uncut is no longer sufficient. First, we must recognize that criminal defendants who operate “meth cooks” in garages, barns and, as here, basements, are not scientists who sit around discussing the molecular structure of their creations. Bogusz was a mechanic who got the phenylacetie acid for the “cook” and O’Rourke was a truck driver who cleaned out the drains at the “cook.” Second, “meth” is not produced under laboratory conditions and is almost never pure. Third, in cases like this one, where the specific batch of drugs at issue is never recovered and tested, the defendant will avoid an enhanced sentence altogether, even when it is undisputed that the drugs were uncut.
I would simply avoid these problems altogether and hold that methamphetamine (actual) refers to the uncut output of the manufacturing process, regardless of its purity. See United States v. Macklin, 927 F.2d 1272, 1283 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 146, 116 L.Ed.2d 112 (1991). I therefore respectfully dissent.