United States v. Shurtz

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
December 19, 2007
PUBLISH Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 07-3072
JOSEPH L. SHURTZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
(D.C. NO. 06-CR-20043-3-JWL)
Submitted on the briefs: *
James T. George, Lawrence, Kansas, for Defendant-Appellant.
Eric F. Melgren, United States Attorney, and Terra D. Morehead, Assistant
United States Attorney, Kansas City, Kansas, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Before BRISCOE, EBEL, and McCONNELL, Circuit Judges.
McCONNELL, Circuit Judge.
*
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral
argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f). The case is therefore submitted without
oral argument.
Defendant Joseph L. Shurtz appeals his conviction for conspiracy to
distribute methamphetamine, two counts of distribution of methamphetamine,
possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm
in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Mr. Shurtz argues that he is entitled to
acquittal on all counts because the government failed to prove that the
methamphetamine in question was a controlled substance under 21 C.F.R. §
1308.12. Because we conclude that 21 C.F.R §1308.12(d) establishes that
methamphetamine is a controlled substance and imposes no requirement on the
government to prove that the quantity involved would have a stimulant effect on
the central nervous system, we affirm the district court decision.
I. BACKGROUND
Mr. Shurtz was convicted on December 1, 2006 and was later sentenced to
196 months of imprisonment. He was arrested as a result of three controlled drug
purchases involving a confidential informant. Following the third controlled buy,
Mr. Shurtz and his passenger, James Watterson, were stopped by police. Mr.
Watterson ran from the vehicle with a cooler containing pills, two firearms, and
drug paraphernalia. At trial, Mr. Watterson testified that when he told Mr. Shurtz
that he was going to run if they were pulled over, Mr. Shurtz handed him the
cooler and told him to take it with him. Two chemists testified at trial that the
pills in the cooler were methamphetamine.
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Mr. Shurtz appeals his convictions and argues that he is entitled to acquittal
on all counts because the government failed to prove that the quantity of
methamphetamine involved in this matter would have a stimulant effect on the
central nervous system. Mr. Shurtz asserts that the substances listed under 21
C.F.R. § 1308.12(d) are not controlled substances unless they are possessed or
distributed in sufficient quantity to have a stimulant effect on the central nervous
system. The Tenth Circuit has never explicitly addressed this issue; however, four
other circuits have held that language similar to that used in 21 C.F.R. §
1308.12(d) did not require the prosecution to prove that the substances involved
were present in quantities sufficient to cause an effect on the central nervous
system.
II. DISCUSSION
The Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 812, divides controlled
substances into five schedules based on factors such as the degree of abuse
potential, the existence of accepted medical uses, and the likelihood that abuse
may lead to dependance. 21 U.S.C. § 812. Congress created the initial schedules
and authorized the Attorney General to update them by adding or removing
substances from the lists and by moving substances from one schedule to another.
21 U.S.C. § 811. Schedule II, as adjusted by the Attorney General, appears in
21 C.F.R. §1308.12. It includes methamphetamine.
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The Defendant-Appellant argues that 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12 requires the
government in every case to prove to the jury that the methamphetamine
possessed or distributed by the defendant would have a stimulant effect on the
central nervous system. Because the jury was not instructed to decide whether the
quantity of methamphetamine involved in this case would have such an effect, he
argues that he was entitled to a judgment of acquittal. In support of this
contention, he relies on the text of 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12, a decision of the Superior
Court of Pennsylvania interpreting a similar state statute, and the regulatory
history. We find Mr. Shurtz’s arguments unpersuasive and affirm the judgment of
the district court.
A.
Mr. Shurtz asserts that on its face the text of the regulation establishes that
the prosecution must prove that the stimulant in question was possessed or
distributed in sufficient quantity to have a stimulant effect on the central nervous
system. 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12(d) lists methamphetamine as follows:
. . .
(d) Stimulants. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another
schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains
any quantity of the following substances having a stimulant effect on the
central nervous system:
(2) Methamphetamine, its salts, isomers, and salts
of its isomers ....
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The list of controlled substances in 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12(d) comprises, in addition
to methamphetamine: amphetamine, phenmetrazine, methylphenidate, and
lisdexamfetamine, together with their salts, isomers, and salts of their isomers.
The question is whether the phrase “having a stimulant effect on the central
nervous system,” is descriptive or limiting. Mr. Shurtz points out that certain
other substances listed in 21 C.F.R. § 1308, such as opiates, cocoa leaves, and
poppy straw, lack such descriptive or limiting phrases. He suggests that in order
to give legal effect to all the words of the regulation, See Stickley v. State Farm
Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,___ F.3d. ___, No. 05-1553, 2007 WL 2938380, at *5 (10th
Cir. 2007) (holding that a statute should, where possible, be construed according
to its plain meaning and, as a whole, giving meaning to all its parts), we must
interpret the phrase “having a stimulant effect on the central nervous system” as
limiting the provision to cases where methamphetamine appears in a quantity or
concentration proven to have the prohibited effect.
We disagree. 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12 is a list of those drugs that Congress and
the Attorney General have determined to be controlled substances and “where
Congress intended the quantity of a substance to be dispositive, it indicated so
unequivocally.” United States v. Picklesimer, 585 F.2d 1199, 1203 (3rd Cir.
1978). It would violate both congressional intent and long-standing practice for
us to infer quantity limitations where no such limitations are affirmatively stated.
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This straightforward interpretation of the provision makes sense of the
language. Although the linguistic conventions of the regulation are not entirely
consistent, it appears that phrases based on the effect of the substance are
included in the legal description when the category is denominated by a term
based on its effect on users—for example, “stimulant” or “depressant”—and not
when the category is denominated by a term based on the chemical or biological
composition of the substance—for example, “opiate” or “cocoa leaves.” There is
no reason to read into that linguistic convention a legal requirement for additional
proof of quantity or effect in a particular case. Rather, the descriptive phrase
serves the purpose of aiding the Attorney General in classifying emerging drugs.
Because stimulants and depressants may appear in new chemical forms, language
based on stimulant or depressant effect enables the Attorney General to include
those new drugs within the appropriate schedule based on general
pharmacological evidence regarding those effects.
Every Court of Appeals to confront this question has reached the same
conclusion. See United States v. Durham, 941 F.2d 886, 890–91 (9th Cir. 1991)
(holding that the language was intended as guidance for the Attorney General);
Picklesimer, 585 F.2d at 1203 (holding that similar language was merely a
description of the listed drugs); United States v. White, 560 F.2d 787, 789 (7th
Cir. 1977) (holding that C.F.R. § 1308.12(d) is a list of drugs that congress has
determined to have a stimulant effect on the central nervous system); United
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States v. Nickles, 509 F.2d 810 (5th Cir. 1975) (holding that similar language
evidences a congressional determination of the actual depressant effect of the
listed substances). These decisions date back over thirty years, and Congress has
not questioned the interpretation. In light of the unanimity of federal court
interpretation, we give little weight to Mr. Shurtz’s favored authority, a decision
of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth v. Teada, 344 A.2d 682(Pa. Super. Ct. 1975), which interpreted similar language in a state statute. See
Picklesimer, 585 F.2d at 1202 (declining to apply the reasoning of Teada to 21
C.F.R. § 1308.12(d)).
The Defendant further argues that his interpretation of 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12is supported by the prior placement of methamphetamine in Schedule III of 21
U.S.C. § 812(c). Schedule III contained the same language as is currently used in
21 C.F.R § 1308.12 with the exception that, rather than simply listing
“Methamphetamine, its salts, isomers, and salts of its isomers,” as is done under
21 C.F.R § 1308.12(d)(2), Section 812 stated: “Any substance (except an
injectable liquid) which contains any quantity of methamphetamine, including its
salts, isomers, and salts of isomers” (emphasis added). When the Attorney
General moved methamphetamine from Schedule III to Schedule II, the language
proscribing “any quantity of methamphetamine” was dropped. Mr. Shurtz
suggests that when language is deleted from, or added to, an existing statute,
courts should construe the statute so that the additions or deletions have meaning.
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He contends that if the current version of 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12 were to provide
that any quantity of methamphetamine is a controlled substance regardless of the
particular quantity’s stimulant effect on the central nervous system, the deletion
of “any quantity of methamphetamine” would become meaningless.
We decline to adopt the Defendant’s explanation for the language
differences between 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12 and 21 U.S.C. § 812. The more
plausible explanation for the deletion of “any quantity of methamphetamine” is
that the language was redundant. In some cases, quantities or concentrations of
the relevant substances determine their schedule. For example, depending on
their quantities and concentrations, dihydrocodeine and codeine can be Schedule
III drugs or Schedule V drugs. 21 C.F.R. § 1308.13; 21 C.F.R. § 1308.15.
Indications of quantity or effect are therefore necessary to determine in any
particular case which schedule is applicable. The listings in Schedule II, by
contrast, do not depend on drug quantity or concentration. It would therefore
have been redundant for the Attorney General to import the “contains any
quantity” language for methamphetamine when it was shifted to Schedule II.
We therefore conclude, based on the language of the provision and long-
standing precedent interpreting it, that the substances enumerated under 21 C.F.R.
§ 1308.12(d) are prohibited without regard to their quantity or concentration.
Accordingly, the government did not need to offer proof at trial that the quantity
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of methamphetamine possessed or distributed by the defendant would have a
stimulant effect on the central nervous system.
III. CONCLUSION
The judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas
is AFFIRMED.
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