United States v. Shelton

MEMORANDUM

This matter is before the Court on the motion of defendant Theodore Wesley Shelton for departure from mandatory minimum sentence. Defendant claims that the 100-to-l cocaine to cocaine base ratio delineated by Congress is unconstitutional, and that the rule of lenity and due process require that he be sentenced under the less severe penalties ascribed to cocaine salts. The Court finds the ratio established by Congress to be constitutional, and that the rule of lenity is inapplicable to defendant's case. Accordingly, defendant's motion will be denied.

I. Procedural History

A. Facts

On…