United States V. Strayhorn

Shannon Strayhorn, the defendant-appellant in this case, appeals his mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months' imprisonment and 8 years' supervised release for his role in a marijuana distribution conspiracy. Specifically, Strayhorn challenges the district court's finding of the amount of drugs attributable to him for sentencing purposes. According to Strayhorn, the Supreme Court's decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S. Ct. 2348 (2000), renders unconstitutional a district court's determination of drug quantity by a preponderance of the evidence when that finding serves to increase the default statutory penalty to which the defendant is exposed. Based on our circuit's recent case law, we must agree. We therefore VACATE Strayhorn's sentence and REMAND to the district court for resentencing in accordance with this opinion.