United States v. Andy Lawuary

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No. 96-2776
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United States of America, *
*
Appellee, *
* Appeal from the United States
v. * District Court for the
* Eastern District of Missouri.
Andy Lawuary, *
* [UNPUBLISHED]
Appellant. *
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Submitted: October 31, 1996
Filed: November 27, 1996
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Before BEAM, HANSEN, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Andy Lawuary, an African-American, challenges the 210-month sentence
imposed by the district court1 after he pleaded guilty to possessing
cocaine and cocaine base (crack) with intent to distribute, in violation
of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). We affirm.
At issue is Lawuary's offense-level calculation, which was derived
from the penalty scheme set forth in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1), providing the
same penalties for given amounts of crack and 100 times greater amounts of
powder cocaine. Lawuary argues that the 100-to-1 ratio has a
disproportionate adverse effect on African-
1
The Honorable George F. Gunn, Jr., United States District
Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Americans; Congress's rejection of the Sentencing Commission's proposed
amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines--which would have eliminated the
100-to-1 ratio and equalized the penalties for crack and powder cocaine--
evidences a discriminatory purpose on Congress's part in maintaining the
penalty scheme; and, thus, continued application of the scheme violates his
Fifth Amendment equal protection and due process rights.
We recently rejected similar arguments in United States v. Carter,
91 F.3d 1196, 1198-99 (8th Cir. 1996) (per curiam).
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
A true copy.
Attest:
CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
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