United States Fourth Circuit

Where the indictment to which appellant pled guilty did not specify any threshold quantity of drugs, such failure to charge and to consider in sentencing such a threshold quantity was plain error under Apprendi, where appellant received a sentence which exceeded by 20 years the maximum possible.

Appellate Information

• Argued 01/25/2002
• Decided 04/22/2002
• Published 04/22/2002

Judges

• Before WIDENER and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL, Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  David Robert Bungard, Robinson & McElwee, L.L.P., Charleston, West Virginia, for Defendant-Appellant.  John Castle Parr, Assistant United States Attorney, Huntington, West Virginia, for Plaintiff-Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Rebecca A. Betts, United States Attorney, Stephanie Taylor, Student Intern, Huntington, West Virginia, for Plaintiff-Appellee.