UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
HORACIO MURILLO-GUZMAN, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT

11th Cir. | 1988-05-18
No. 87-5720
Before KRAVITCH, HATCHETT and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
845 F.2d 314 Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (1988) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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Holding

The statutory minimum sentence for importing 500 grams or more of cocaine does not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments or the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process and equal protection.

Facts & Procedural History

Horacio Murillo-Guzman pled guilty to importing 500 grams or more of cocaine and received the statutory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment an…

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Topics
Statutory Minimum Sentence Proportionality Of Sentence Equal Protection Clause (Fifth Amendment) Fifth Amendment (Due Process)

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM:

PER CURIAM:

Horacio Murillo-Guzman pled guilty to one count of importing 500 grams or more of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 952(a). Under 21 U.S.C. § 960(b)(2)(B)(ii), the district court was required to sentence Murillo-Guzman to imprisonment for not less than five years, followed by a term of supervised release for not less than four years. Murillo-Guzman received the minimum sentence permitted by the statute.

Murillo-Guzman argues that the statutory minimum sentence violates the eighth amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments and the fifth amendment’s guarantee of due process. These arguments are without merit. In United States v. Holmes, 838 F. 2d 1175 (11th Cir.1988), a panel of this court rejected similar constitutional challenges to 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(l)(B)(ii)(II), which requires a term of imprisonment of not less than five years for the possession with intent to distribute of 500 grams or more of cocaine. Applying the analysis of Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 292, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 3010, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983), the Holmes panel concluded that the sentences authorized by section 841(b)(1)(B) were not disproportionate to the gravity of the offense. We cannot distinguish this case from Holmes in any relevant fashion. Accordingly, we hold that a prison term of five years followed by four years of supervised release for the importation of more than 500 grams of cocaine does not violate the eighth amendment.

Nor does the statutory minimum deprive the appellant of due process or equal protection. Heightened scrutiny is inappropriate because the statute does not discriminate on the basis of a suspect classification or the exercise of a fundamental right. See United States v. Holmes, supra, at 1177-78. Congress could rationally have concluded that the importation of large quantities of controlled substances posed a particularly great risk to the welfare of society warranting heavy sentences, regardless of the individual offender’s particular position in a drug operation’s hierarchy. Moreover, as explained in Holmes, the district court has wide discretion to sentence a defendant within a range above the statutory minimum and may take into account factors such as the role of a particular offender. AFFIRMED.

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Citator

Cited By

  • United States v. McNEESE, 901 F.2d 585 (7th Cir. 1990)
    …. 2d 228, 232 (9th Cir.1988); United States v. Brown, 859 [*607] F. 2d 974, 976 (D.C.Cir.1988); United States v. Whitehead, 849 F. 2d 849, 860 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 109 S.Ct. 534, 102 L.Ed.2d 566 (1988); United States v. Murillo-Guzman, 845 F. 2d 314, 315 (11th Cir.1988); United States v. Holmes, 838 F. 2d 1175, 1178 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1058, 108 S.Ct. 2829, 100 L.Ed.2d 930 (1988). In Rose this court upheld the five-year sentence, without possibility of parole, of a defendant co…
  • United States v. Rodriguez-Suarez, 856 F.2d 135 (11th Cir. 1988)
    …er argument that the provisions are not rationally related to a legitimate purpose is foreclosed by our prior decisions. See Holmes, 838 F. 2d at 1177-78; United States v. Solomon, 848 F. 2d 156, 157 (11th Cir.1988); United States v. Murillo-Guzman, 845 F. 2d 314, 315 (11th Cir.1988). . Congress subsequently eliminated the gap through the Sentencing Act of 1987, Pub.L. No. 100-182, 101 Stat. 1266 (1987). However, the appellants were convicted and sentenced prior to the removal of the gap. Therefore, the sen…
  • United States v. Cook, 859 F.2d 777 (9th Cir. 1988)
    …he eighth amendment). Cook argues that she was merely a “mule,” doing the bidding of more sophisticated drug dealers. We are not persuaded that this diminishes the level of culpability that attaches to her acts. See United States v. Murillo-Guzman, 845 F. 2d 314, 315 (11th Cir.1988) (regardless of the defendant’s particular position in a drug operation hierarchy heavy sentence was warranted); United States v. Holmes, 838 F. 2d 1175, 1178 (11th Cir.1988). Cook also argues that her sentence is too harsh becau…

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