Category: Federal Drug Crimes

A federal proffer can help a defendant pursue cooperation, but it can also reveal information that substantially increases the government’s knowledge of the alleged offense. When the government promises that self-incriminating information will not be used to calculate the sentencing guidelines, it cannot use protected proffer statements to increase drug quantity or...

Federal drug conspiracy prosecutions can involve dozens of defendants, multiple suppliers, numerous customers and years of alleged drug transactions.

But knowing people who distribute drugs does not automatically make someone a member of their conspiracy.

Under 21 U.S.C. § 846, the government must prove that the...

A person does not automatically become a member of a federal drug conspiracy merely because he buys or sells illegal drugs. Every drug sale necessarily involves an agreement between a buyer and seller, but federal conspiracy law requires an agreement to participate in a broader criminal objective.

The distinction...

Finding drugs does not necessarily prove that a person intended to distribute them.

In a federal prosecution for possession with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), the government must prove more than possession of a controlled substance. It must also be proven that the...

Drug quantity can be one of the most important disputes at sentencing in a federal drug case.

A defendant may plead guilty to or be convicted of an offense involving a particular amount of drugs, only to face a substantially larger quantity in the Presentence Investigation Report.