Circuit split · criminal procedure

Whether Apprendi's jury-trial requirement extends to factual determinations that affect the sentencing judge's discretion to impose a lesser sentence

1 federal appellate case on this question, each acknowledging the disagreement in its own words.

United States v. Leachman309 F3D 377
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals · October 9, 2002
“Accordingly, in Flowal, we created a circuit split and broadened Ap-prendi to apply to determinations affecting the judge’s discretion to impose a lesser sentence.” — Acknowledges a circuit split
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The provision at issue

“(a) Unlawful acts Except as authorized by this subchapter, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally— (1) to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance; or (2) to create, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to distribute or dispense, a counterfeit substance. (b) Penalties Except as otherwise provided in section 849, 859, 860, or 861 of this title, any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced as …”

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The other side of the split

Decisions the acknowledging court(s) named as the opposing or joined side, quoted in the acknowledging opinion's own words.

On the other sideFlowal234 F.3d 936
“In Flowal, the first case in which we applied Apprendi to mandatory minimum sentences, the judge found the defendant guilty and found the amount of drugs (five kilograms of cocaine) by a preponderance of the evidence.” — United States v. Leachman, acknowledging the split
Declined to followHarris v. United States122 S.Ct. 2406
“Harris challenged his sentence under Apprendi, claiming that any factor increasing the mandatory minimum sentence to which a defendant is subject must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” — United States v. Leachman, acknowledging the split
DiscussedMcMillan
“The result in Harris is borne from the holding in McMillan.” — United States v. Leachman, acknowledging the split

What the split turns on

Anchor precedents:: Apprendi
Statutes:: 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) ·; 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B) ·; 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) ·; 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) ·; 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)

Cases are grouped by the legal question they announce a split on, classified from the court's own acknowledgment sentence. Verified acknowledgments only. Counter-side decisions are extracted from the acknowledging opinions' own text and linked only when the citation resolves in this corpus. See all circuit splits.