Justia Drugs & Biotech Opinion Summaries

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ryan Dewayne Myrick’s apartment, discovering 69.01 grams of methamphetamine, drug packaging, a digital scale, and other paraphernalia. In his vehicle, they found additional drug packaging. Myrick was charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute. He pleaded guilty to the latter charge, admitting to possessing 69.01 grams of methamphetamine, with the intent to distribute at least 50 grams. The government agreed to dismiss the conspiracy charge and recommend a reduction for acceptance of responsibility, contingent on Myrick’s continued demonstration of acceptance.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa reviewed the case. The Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) recommended holding Myrick responsible for 4.5 kilograms or more of methamphetamine, resulting in a base offense level of 38. It also suggested a two-level enhancement for maintaining a premises for drug distribution and a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility. Myrick objected to the drug quantity and the premises enhancement, while the government objected to the reduction for acceptance of responsibility. The district court overruled Myrick’s objections and sustained the government’s, resulting in a total offense level of 40 and an advisory Guidelines range of 360 months to life. Myrick was sentenced to 300 months of imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the case. Myrick challenged the district court’s drug quantity determination, the premises enhancement, and the denial of a reduction for acceptance of responsibility. The appellate court found no clear error in the district court’s findings, including the credibility of witness testimony and the application of relevant conduct principles. The court affirmed the district court’s judgment, upholding Myrick’s sentence. View "United States v. Myrick" on Justia Law

Mohamed Gamar Ahmed was charged with possession of cocaine and fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charges stemmed from a search warrant executed at Ahmed's residence in Nebraska, where law enforcement officers discovered loaded handguns, ammunition, drug paraphernalia, marijuana, cocaine, and counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl. Ahmed pleaded guilty to the charges. The United States Probation Office prepared a presentence investigation report (PSR), which alleged that Ahmed had supplied one of the fentanyl-laced pills to a minor female, who overdosed after ingesting it. The Government filed a motion for an upward departure or variance on the drug-possession count, arguing that the United States Sentencing Guidelines range of 15-21 months’ imprisonment failed to adequately account for the extent of the harm caused by Ahmed’s drug-dealing.The District Court for the District of Nebraska conducted an evidentiary hearing at sentencing that involved testimony from two witnesses. After hearing the direct- and cross-examinations of both witnesses, the district court overruled Ahmed’s objection to the PSR, finding that the testimony was consistent with the allegation that Ahmed supplied the pill that caused the minor to overdose. The district court then proceeded to sentencing, stating that it had considered all the federal sentencing factors enumerated in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), including the serious nature of the offense and Ahmed’s history and characteristics. The district court varied upward on the drug-possession count to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment, ultimately sentencing Ahmed to 48 months’ imprisonment. Ahmed also received a mandatory minimum term of 60 months’ imprisonment on the firearm-possession count, to be served consecutively, for a total of 108 months’ imprisonment.Ahmed appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, alleging that the district court committed procedural error and imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence. The appellate court affirmed the district court's decision, finding no procedural error and concluding that the district court imposed a substantively reasonable sentence. View "United States v. Ahmed" on Justia Law

In the case before the United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit, the defendant, Kaycee Heard, appealed his 180-month sentence for involvement in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that transported oxycodone and fentanyl pills from Michigan to North Dakota for distribution. Heard pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and his sentence exceeded his Guidelines range of 135 to 168 months. Heard's appeal centered around three key claims: the district court miscalculated his criminal history score, wrongly applied a Guidelines enhancement for his role in the conspiracy, and issued an unreasonable sentence.The Court of Appeals rejected all three of Heard's claims. First, the court found that the district court was correct to assess a criminal history point for a two-year probation term Heard served under Michigan’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. Despite Heard's argument that this sentence should not have counted towards his criminal history score as no conviction was entered and the underlying charges were dismissed, the Appeals Court ruled that Heard's admission of guilt by pleading guilty meant the probation term was correctly counted as a "prior sentence".Second, the Appeals Court upheld the district court's application of a three-level enhancement for Heard's role in the conspiracy, finding that Heard had exhibited sufficient managerial or supervisory authority to warrant this enhancement. The court pointed to evidence that Heard had recruited co-conspirators, used a co-conspirator’s apartment as a stash house, directed a co-conspirator to travel to get pills for distribution, and received proceeds from the pills’ sale.Finally, the court found Heard's sentence to be both procedurally and substantively reasonable. The district court had varied up from the Guidelines range based on Heard's conduct in pretrial detention, including his participation in a prison riot and assaults on two inmates. The Appeals Court found no clear error in the district court's determination that Heard had participated in the riot, and concluded that the 180-month sentence was within the realm of reasonableness given Heard's drug trafficking and pretrial detention misconduct. The court also rejected Heard's claim that his sentence created unwarranted disparities with his co-conspirators, stating that the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities refers to national disparities, not differences among co-conspirators. The court therefore affirmed the district court’s judgment. View "United States v. Heard" on Justia Law

In this appeal before the United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit, the defendant, Linda Riaski, who was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, appealed the denial of her request for a hearing under Franks v. Delaware. The case involves a search warrant that was issued based on an affidavit prepared by Deputy Sheriff Jerry Brisky, who relied on information provided by a confidential informant (CI). The CI claimed to have observed Riaski packaging methamphetamine for distribution and to have seen Riaski with a black 9 millimeter handgun. The search of Riaski's residence resulted in the discovery of methamphetamine and firearms.Riaski's appeal was based on the argument that the district court erred in denying her request for a Franks hearing to challenge the validity of the search warrant. She claimed that the affidavit supporting the search warrant was misleading because it omitted information about the CI’s credibility, her criminal history, her drug use, the financial arrangement between her and Deputy Brisky, and certain facts alleged in Riaski’s own affidavit.The court affirmed the district court's decision, holding that Riaski failed to make a substantial preliminary showing that Deputy Brisky intentionally or recklessly omitted facts with the intent to mislead the issuing judge, and that the affidavit, even if supplemented by the omitted information, could still support a finding of probable cause. The court reasoned that the omitted information about the CI's criminal history and drug use would not have altered the probable cause determination, as the affidavit had already provided a basis for the CI’s reliability, disclosing that she previously had provided accurate information and had made controlled purchases under Brisky’s supervision. The court also found that the omission of the details and existence of the agreement between Brisky and the CI did not render the affidavit misleading. The judgment was affirmed. View "United States v. Riaski" on Justia Law

In this case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the defendant, Bradley Ready, appealed his sentence following his guilty plea for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance. The court affirmed the district court's decision.During a search of Ready's residence, law enforcement officers found drug paraphernalia, scales, a loaded hunting rifle, and three bags of methamphetamine. Ready was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty to both counts. At sentencing, the U.S. Probation Office recommended grouping the drug and gun counts together and applying a two-level enhancement due to the possession of a dangerous weapon. Ready objected to this enhancement, but the district court overruled this objection.On appeal, Ready argued that the district court erred in applying the enhancement for possession of a dangerous weapon and applied the wrong standard in determining his eligibility for safety valve relief. The appellate court found no error in the district court's conclusions.The appellate court held that the district court did not err in applying the enhancement for possession of a dangerous weapon, as it was not "clearly improbable" that the rifle found in Ready's bedroom was connected to the distribution of methamphetamine from his home. The court also held that the district court did not err in its application of the standard for determining Ready's eligibility for safety valve relief. Therefore, the district court's judgment was affirmed. View "United States v. Ready" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed a personal injury action against Merck after she suffered cardiovascular injuries allegedly from taking a medication called Vioxx. The Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of plaintiff's claims. The district court held that plaintiff's claims accrued prior to September 2001 and thus her September 29, 2006 suit was time-barred. In Missouri, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is five years after the cause of action accrues.The court held that there was a genuine issue of fact as to whether the evidence was such that a reasonably prudent person was on notice of a potentially actionable injury before September 29, 2001. The court predicted that the state supreme court would conclude that mere knowledge in the medical community of a possible link between Vioxx and heart problems did not, as a matter of law, place a reasonably prudent person in plaintiff's position on notice of a potentially actionable injury. View "Levitt v. Merck & Co." on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit against pharmaceutical companies, alleging that they were liable for substantial gambling and other financial losses that resulted from obsessive compulsive behavior, a side effect of taking a dopamine agonist called Mirapex for his Parkinson's disease. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment dismissing all claims as barred by the applicable California statute of limitations. The court rejected plaintiff's contention that the statute should be tolled because he was insane when the cause of action accrued; rejected plaintiff's contention that each ingestion of the drug gave rise to a separate and distinct claim under the continuing violations doctrine; and held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying a motion to stay defendants' motion for summary judgment. View "Mancini v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals" on Justia Law