DePierre v. United States

DePierre v. United States, 564 U.S. 70 (2011), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the use of the term "cocaine base" in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)^[1] refers to cocaine in its chemically basic form.^[2] The decision of the Court was unanimous, except with respect to Part III–A.

DePierre v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 28, 2011 Decided June 9, 2011
Full case name	Frantz DePierre, Petitioner v. United States
Docket no.	09-1533
Citations	564 U.S. 70 (more) 131 S. Ct. 2225; 180 L. Ed. 2d 114
Argument	Oral argument
Case history
Prior	Conviction affirmed, 599 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 2010); cert. granted, 562 U.S. ___ (2010).
Holding
The term "cocaine base" in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1) refers to cocaine in its chemically basic form.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Case opinions
Majority	Sotomayor, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Kagan; Scalia (except Part III–A)
Concurrence	Scalia (in part)
Laws applied
21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)

Background

A federal court found Frantz DePierre guilty of distributing cocaine in April 2008. Additionally, DePierre was found guilty of distributing more than 50 grams of "cocaine base, which carries a 10-year minimum sentence." Following this conviction, DePierre was sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison followed by 5 years of supervised release. Two years later, the US Court of Appeals upheld the sentencing,

Question Before the Court

Does the term "cocaine base" cover a broad spectrum of cocaine defined chemically as a base, or is the term specifically limited to the use and distribution of "crack" cocaine?^[3]

Decision of the Court

In a unanimous decision, Justice Sotomayor wrote the opinion of the Court defining cocaine base as not just crack cocaine, but any substance that contains "cocaine in its chemically basic form."^[4]

Concurring Opinion

Justice Scalia wrote a brief, humorous concurring opinion arguing that the Court's look into legislative history is unneeded and potentially harmful.

See also

• Cocaine in the United States

References

1. 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1).
2. DePierre v. United States Opinion p. 1 "This case requires us to decide whether the term "cocaine base" as used in [21 U.S.C. §841(b)(1)] refers generally to cocaine in its chemically basic form or exclusively to what is colloquially known as "crack cocaine." We conclude that "cocaine base" means the former."
3. "DePierre v. United States". Oyez: Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
4. "DePierre v. United States". Justia: The US Supreme Court Center. Retrieved November 14, 2013.

External links

• Text of DePierre v. United States, 564 U.S. 70 (2011) is available from: Google Scholar Justia Oyez (oral argument audio) Supreme Court (slip opinion) (archived)