United States v. Doolin, No. 23-2421 (8th Cir. 2024)
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In this case, Tony Doolin was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for distribution of crack cocaine. After his release, Doolin lived in Iowa and possessed a medical-marijuana card, which permitted him to obtain medical marijuana under Iowa law. However, his supervised release was revoked due to his ongoing marijuana use and his distribution of medical marijuana to his girlfriend. Doolin appealed this decision, arguing that it violated the Appropriations Clause of the United States Constitution, due to the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2023. This act prohibits the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using funds to prevent states from implementing their own medical marijuana laws.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the decision of the District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, holding that the revocation of Doolin's supervised release did not violate the Appropriations Clause or the CAA of 2023. The court noted that marijuana possession remains illegal under federal law, regardless of any state laws or limits on prosecutorial funding. Federal courts are required to impose a prohibition on a defendant’s unlawful possession or use of all controlled substances, including marijuana, as a condition of any term of supervised release. Even if section 531 of the CAA prohibits the DOJ from funding marijuana-related prosecutions or revocations, where doing so prevents a state from implementing its medical marijuana laws, the district court did not abuse its discretion in revoking Doolin’s supervised release. Doolin engaged in unlawful conduct, even under Iowa’s medical-marijuana regime, as private distribution of marijuana is illegal under Iowa law, as is smoking marijuana, even for medical purposes. Therefore, the court found that the revocation of Doolin's supervised release was not prohibited by the CAA, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in revoking Doolin's supervised release.
Court Description: [Gruender, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Shepherd, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Revocation. The Appropriations Clause did not prohibit the revocation of defendant's term of supervised release and the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying an injunction or in revoking defendant's supervised release based on his private distribution of marijuana in violation of Iowa law.
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