United States v. Frank Sam Early

Frank Sam Early appeals his sentence of 144 months imprisonment imposed after he pled guilty to possession of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”) with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B).

Early first challenges the district court’s failure to apply the Sentencing Guidelines governing possession of powder cocaine to his conviction for possession of crack cocaine. Under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 (Nov.1994), the weight of crack cocaine is treated as 100 times the weight of powder cocaine, which in this case resulted in a base offense level of 28 rather than 14. However,…