United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Jerry Wayne Fisher, Defendant-appellant.united States of America, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Jerry Fisher, Defendant-appellee,, 980 F.2d 739 (9th Cir. 1992)
Annotate this CaseBefore GOODWIN, FARRIS and PREGERSON, Circuit Judges.
MEMORANDUM*
Fisher raises a number of issues on appeal. We agree that the duress instruction lacked a proper factual basis, see United States v. Beltran-Rios, 878 F.2d 1208, 1213 (9th Cir. 1989), but under all of the circumstances, the error was harmless beyond any doubt. Evidence of guilt was overwhelming.
The government cross-appeals the failure of the trial court to sentence Fisher to the mandatory minimum required under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) (1) (B) (1988). We agree with the government that application of the statute does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. See Harmelin v. Michigan, 111 S. Ct. 2680, 2701 (1991). The trial court recognized, as it must, the mandatory language of the statute. Under the unusual and peculiar facts of this isolated case, however, the court could properly conclude that the statute did not apply.
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this Circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit rule 36-3
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
