United States v. Hon. Frank J. McGarr Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

This case comes before us on the government’s petition for a writ of mandamus directed to respondent district judge.

In a criminal case before respondent judge, two defendants were convicted by a jury of engaging in a conspiracy to sell heroin from March 1969 to July 1969 in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174. The statute provides for a mandatory minimum 5-year prison term.

Effective May 1, 1971, § 174 was repealed by § 1101(a) (2) of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, 84 Stat. 1236, 1291. A savings clause, § 1103(a), 84 Stat. 1294, provides;

“(a) Prosecutions for any…