U.S. v. Dick

• Decision Date: 13 November 2001
• Docket Number: No. 1:01-CR-42-3.,1:01-CR-42-3.
• Citation: 173 F.Supp.2d 765
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. William DICK, Bryan Ritchie, and Krystal Tate Layne.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Tennessee

173 F.Supp.2d 765

UNITED STATES of America, v. William DICK, Bryan Ritchie, and Krystal Tate Layne.

No. 1:01-CR-42-3.

United States District Court, E.D. Tennessee, at Chattanooga.

November 13, 2001.

Rita C. LaLumia, Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, Inc., Chattanooga, TN, M. Keith Davis, Dunlap, TN, for William Dick.

Clayton M. Whitaker, Foster, Foster, Allen & Durrence, Chattanooga, TN, for Bryan Ritchie.

R. Dee Hobbs, Bell, Turner & Hobbs, Chattanooga, TN, for Krystal T. Layne.

Paul W. Laymon, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Chattanooga, TN, for U.S.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

COLLIER, District Judge.

Defendants William Dick ("Dick"), Bryan Ritchie ("Ritchie"), and Krystal Tate Layne ("Layne") appeared before the Court for a sentencing hearing on October 5, 2001. In advance of the hearing, the United States Probation Office ("Probation") prepared presentence reports ("PSR") on each Defendant.¹ Probation recommended the Court apply a sentencing enhancement recognizing the substantial risk of harm associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2D1.1(b)(6)(A) (Supp.2000). Defendants objected to the recommended application. At the sentencing hearing, the Court heard testimony and considered the arguments of counsel. Because the application of this relatively new sentencing enhancement is a matter of first impression, the Court has decided to put its analysis in writing. For the reasons outlined below, the Court DENIED Defendants' objections and APPLIED the enhancement.

I. RELEVANT FACTS

On February 21, 2001, based on evidence of an operational methamphetamine laboratory gathered by a confidential informant, law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant for an apartment rented to Dick. The apartment is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee in a large apartment complex containing several dozen buildings. The buildings are situated in close proximity to one another. (A map of the complex is attached to this Order.) This area of Chattanooga, Tennessee contains several large apartment complexes all in close proximity to each other and to a creek running into the nearby Tennessee River.

Later that day, officers executed the warrant. They discovered Ritchie and Layne in the apartment. Dick arrived a short time later. According to the factual bases supporting their respective written plea agreements,² Ritchie had ephedrine hidden in his pants, and Layne had methamphetamine hidden in her mouth. At the sentencing hearing, a law enforcement officer testified that Defendants used the ephedrine reduction method of methamphetamine manufacture. The officer testified about the various items commonly used in this method that were found throughout the apartment. These items included an empty gallon container of acetone and an empty gallon container of campstove fuel. Acetone is a highly flammable substance. It is difficult to control or extinguish when on fire. Campstove fuel is both flammable and explosive. Other testimony indicated the residents in the apartment below Dick's apartment had frequently complained to the apartment superintendent about a lingering odor of nail polish. Acetone smells like nail polish.

Ritchie and Layne each admitted in their plea agreements they had manufactured methamphetamine in Dick's apartment on more than one occasion. Layne's factual basis states, "Dick provided the location and shared in the finished product, while Ritchie and Layne acquired the chemicals." The PSRs indicate Defendants regularly used methamphetamine until they were arrested.

Defendants each pleaded guilty to one count of attempt to manufacture methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(b)(1)(C). In the PSRs submitted to the Court,³ Probation attributed 19.4 grams of methamphetamine mixture to Dick, 22.4 of methamphetamine mixture to Ritchie, and 19.4 grams of methamphetamine mixture to Layne. Based on these quantities, Probation calculated Dick's initial base offense level to be 18, Ritchie's 20, and Layne's 18. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2D1.1(a)(3). Probation added two levels to Ritchie's offense level because he possessed a semi-automatic pistol. Id. § 2D1.1(b)(1). Probation then increased each Defendant's offense level to 27 because the offense involved the operation of a methamphetamine laboratory that created a substantial risk of harm of human life. Id. § 2D1.1(b)(6)(A). Probation calculated Dick's criminal history category to be IV, Ritchie's I, and Layne's IV. Based on an offense level of 27 and a criminal history category of IV, Probation calculated the guideline range for Dick and Layne to be 77-96 months. Based on an offense level of 27 and a criminal history category of I, Probation calculated the guideline range for Ritchie to be 51-63 months. The statutory maximum for a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) is twenty years. The Court sentenced Dick and Layne to 87 months and Ritchie to 51 months.

II. DISCUSSION

Defendants object on factual and constitutional grounds to the application of section 2D1.1(b)(6) to their sentences. Defendants first contend the provision is not mandatory, arguing the Court should exercise its discretion not to apply the enhancement given the facts of the case. Defendants next contend the provision violates their constitutional right to due process, arguing its application potentially results in disproportionate sentence enhancements. After considering the purpose of the enhancement, the legality of analogous enhancements, and the particular circumstances of Defendants' offense, the Court finds Defendants' arguments unpersuasive.

A. Factual Challenge

On October 17, 2000, the United States Congress passed the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000. Section 102 of the Act instructs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the federal sentencing guidelines to provide for enhanced punishment of certain methamphetamine laboratory operators:

(1) IN GENERAL. — Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal sentencing guidelines in accordance with paragraph (2) with respect to any offense relating to the manufacture, attempt to manufacture, or conspiracy to manufacture amphetamine or methamphetamine in violation of —

(A) the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.);

. . . . .

(2) REQUIREMENTS. — In carrying out this paragraph, the United States Sentencing Commission shall —

(A) if the offense created a substantial risk of harm to human life (other than a life described in subparagraph (B)) or the environment, increase the base offense level for the offense —

(i) by not less than 3 offense levels above the applicable level in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; or

(ii) if the resulting base level after an increase under clause (i) would be less than 27, to not less than level 27;

(B) if the offense created a substantial risk of harm to the life of a minor or incompetent, increase the base offense level for the offense —

(i) by not less than 6 offense levels above the applicable level in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; or

(ii) if the resulting base level after an increase under clause (i) would be less than 30, to not less than level 30.

. . . . .

Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000, Pub.L. No. 106-310, § 3612, 14 Stat. 1228-29 (2000). On December 16, 2000, the United States Sentencing Commission amended section 2D1.1(b) of the federal sentencing guidelines:

If the offense (i) involved the manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine; and (ii) created a substantial risk of harm to (I) human life other than a life described in subsection (b)(6)(B); or (II) the environment, increase by 3 levels. If the resulting offense level is less than 27, increase to level 27.

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2D1.1(b)(6)(A) (Supp.2000).⁴

The legislative history behind § 2D1.1(b)(6) indicates Congress intended federal courts to enhance the sentence of any operator of a methamphetamine laboratory that created a substantial risk of harm to human life or the environment. The Committee on the Judiciary explained the dangers inherent to such laboratories necessitated the enhancement provision:

The committee notes the grave danger amphetamine and methamphetamine manufacturing poses to human life and the environment. Law enforcement officials cite frequent discovery of children living and playing among toxic and volatile chemicals in home-based amphetamine and methamphetamine laboratories. Federal, State and local law enforcement spend significant amounts of tax-payer dollars cleaning up toxic waste left behind by amphetamine and methamphetamine laboratories. Increasing the offense levels is necessary given the threat and harm inflicted on communities by amphetamine and methamphetamine manufacturers.

H.R.Rep. No. 106-878, pt. 1, at 27 (2000). In response to such inherent dangers, Congress included in the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act instructions that the Sentencing Commission "shall" increase the base offense level for methamphetamine manufacturing offenses creating a substantial risk of harm to human life or the environment. In complying with Congress's directive, the Sentencing Commission created a minimum offense level — a "floor" — for those defendants who create such a risk.

It is not at all unusual for the Sentencing Commission to establish such minimum offense levels. The sentencing guidelines create numerous such floors based on various offense characteristics, many of which relate to the creation of some intangible or unquantifiable harm. See, e.g., U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual §§ 2B1.1(b), 2B4.1(b), 2B5.1(b), 2B5.3(b), 2B6.1(b), 2D1.1(b)(6), 2F1.1(b), 2K1.3(b), 2K2.1(b), 2L1.1(b), 2P1.2(b), 2T1.1(b). Section 2F1.1(b)(5)(C), for example, creates a minimum offense level of 12 for acts of fraud in which a defendant uses a victim's personal...