United States v. Abrahamson, No. 11-2404 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine. The district court sentenced Defendant to 240 months' imprisonment, the applicable mandatory minimum because it found Defendant had a prior felony drug conviction. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) there was no Speedy Trial Act violation in this case; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting Defendant's proposed jury instruction, and the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to sustain Defendant's conviction; (3) Defendant's sentence did not violate the Sixth Amendment, because, contrary to Defendant's argument that the existence of a prior conviction was a factual determination that should have been presented to a jury, the Court has found expressly constitutional under the Sixth Amendment the imposition of increased mandatory minimum sentences on the basis of judge-found facts.
Court Description: Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. Speedy Trial Act claim rejected; defendant was not entitled to proposed "ultimate user" instruction since he was charged with conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine, rather than possession of the drug, and even if could show he was the ultimate user within the meaning of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 833(c)(3), that would not constitute a defense to the charge; Sixth Amendment challenge to statutory mandatory minimum rejected.
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