United States Fourth Circuit

Sentences at bottom of guideline range, based on guilty pleas to aiding and abetting in distributing an unspecified quantity of Ecstasy, are vacated because the district court violated defendants' Sixth Amendment rights when it relied on facts stated in the presentence report to enhance the defendants' sentences beyond the statutory minimum.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/02/2005
• Decided 04/06/2006
• Published 04/06/2006

Judges

• Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Jonathan David Byrne, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant.  John Lanier File, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Beckley, West Virginia, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Mary Lou Newberger, Federal Public Defender, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant Jason Oma Milam;  Jason D. Parmer, Hinton, West Virginia, for Appellant Dewayne Lee Milam.  Kasey Warner, United States Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee.