Challenge to defendant's sentence for distribution of an opioid skin patch resulting in death
US v. Krieger, 09-1333, concerned a challenge to the district court's imposition of a mandatory statutory minimum of twenty years' imprisonment, in a conviction of defendant for distribution of divers amounts of fentanyl under 21 U.S.C. section 841(a)(1) and section 841(b)(1)(C), which resulted in the death of her friend.
In affirming the sentence, the court held that under current Supreme Court precedent, the government was not required to include the indictment the fact that death resulted from the distribution of fentanyl, as this fact could be determined by the sentencing court using a preponderance of the evidence standard, provided that defendant's maximum sentence did not surpass the statutory maximum for distribution of fentanyl without death resulting.
Related Link:
- Read the Seventh Circuit's Full Decision in US v. Krieger, 09-1333
