U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1970

United States of America Ex Rel. Jon M. Mudry v. Alfred T. Rundle, Supt., Etc.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · Decided July 17, 1970 · Adams, McLAUGHLIN, Per Curiam, Staley

429 F.2d 1316; 1970 U.S. App. LEXIS 8099 (Federal Reporter, Second Series)

Counsel

Lane Taylor, Jr., Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellant., Carl Feldbaum, Asst. Dist. Atty., Philadelphia, Pa. (James D. Crawford, Deputy Dist. Atty., for Law, Richard A. Sprague, First Asst. Dist. Atty., Arlen Specter, Dist. Atty., Philadelphia, Pa.), on the brief, for appellee.

Cases that cite this one

2 later published cases cite this decision.

John Powers v. Warden Allenwood USP (3d Cir. 2022)
Richard Sanchez v. Louis S. Nelson, Warden (9th Cir. 1971)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

PER CURIAM:

Appellant pleaded guilty in a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania court to unlawful use of narcotics and felonious possession of narcotics. He is confined to a Commonwealth correction institution. His petition of habeas corpus was denied by the District Court.

It is carefully and strongly urged on his behalf that because he was an addict, his conviction for unlawful use of drugs was really punishing him for his addiction. There is no such crime under Pennsylvania law. Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660, 664, 82 S.Ct. 1417, 1419, 8 L.Ed.2d 758 (1962), relied on here by appellant, itself states that “There can be no question of the authority of the state in the exercise of its police power to regulate the administration, sale, prescription and use of dangerous and habit forming drugs * Cf. Powell v. Texas, 392 U.S. 514, 88 S.Ct. 2145, 20 L.Ed.2d 1254 (1968).

It is also urged that appellant’s convictions and sentences for both possession and use of narcotics constitute double jeopardy. These offenses were not successive steps in the same transaction. The one crime did not necessarily involve the other. There was no merger *1317 of the crimes. The conviction and sentence for both was fully justified. Albrecht v. United States, 273 U.S. 1, 47 S.Ct. 250, 71 L.Ed. 505 (1927); Commonwealth ex rel. Moszczynski v. Ashe, 343 Pa. 102, 21 A.2d 920 (1941); Commonwealth v. McCusker, 363 Pa. 450, 70 A.2d 273 (1950).

The judgment of the District Court will be affirmed.

We are grateful to assigned counsel for his most capable representation of appellant.

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