United States v. Lucas

Defendants-Appellants pled guilty in the Southern District of New York (Cathy Sei-bel, Judge) to conspiring to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 *628U.S.C. §§ 841(a), 841(b), and 846, and to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to that conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). The district court sentenced all three defendants to the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment on both counts, ten years for the drug charge,1 and five years for the gun charge. At issue in this sentencing appeal is whether the district court had authority to impose less than the…