United States v. Kayle Nordby

Opinion by Judge CANBY; Dissent by Judge REINHARDT.

CANBY, Circuit Judge:

In this case we are called upon to apply the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, — U.S. -, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). Apprendi held that a fact that increases the prescribed statutory maximum penalty to which a criminal defendant is exposed must be submitted to a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 2362-63: We hold that the amount of drugs for which a defendant is sentenced under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1) is such a fact, and that our existing precedent to the contrary is…