United States v. Frye
United States v. Frye
Opinion of the Court
SUPPLEMENTAL MEMORANDUM
Defendant challenges his sentence and guilty plea to violating 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) on several grounds. We resolved his claims unrelated to Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), in an earlier memorandum disposition, and ordered the remaining issues deferred pending resolution of United States v. Buckland, 277 F.3d 1173 (9th Cir. 2002) (en banc), which held that 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) is constitutional.
“Apprendi did not change the long established rule that the government need not prove that the defendant knew the type and amount of a controlled substance that he imported or possessed.” United States v. Carranza, 289 F.3d 634 (9th Cir. 2002). The government only needs to show “that the defendant knew that he imported or possessed some controlled substance.” Id. at 643.
Defendant also argues that he never pled to the quantity alleged in the indictment, because his plea only admitted what everyone understood were the elements of
Defendant never contested the amount alleged in the indictment; he didn’t object to it at the plea hearing; he didn’t object to it in his response to the Presentence Report; and he didn’t object to it in his Sentencing Memorandum. Cf. Buckland, 277 F.3d at 1184 (looking to statements in the “Objections to the Presentenee Report and Government’s Sentencing Memorandum” to determine whether an Apprendi error affected the defendant’s “substantial rights”).
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as may be provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. While Buckland dealt with plain error, the “substantial rights analysis under plain error is similar to a harmless error analysis.” Jordan, at 1095. The difference between the two is which side carries the burden of persuasion. Id. at 1096. The government here carried that burden.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.