Burrage v. United States (571 U.S. 204)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 27, 2014 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 571 U.S. 204 · 134 S. Ct. 881
- Docket
- No. 12-7515
- Argued
- November 12, 2013
- Decided
- January 27, 2014
- Term
- October Term 2013
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia (wrote), Justice Kennedy, Justice Thomas, Justice Breyer, Justice Alito, Justice Kagan
- Concurring in the judgment
- Justice Ginsburg (wrote), Justice Sotomayor
Oral argument transcript and advocates · Opinion on Justia
Opinion excerpt
(Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2013 1 Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus BURRAGE v. UNITED STATES CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT No. 12–7515. Argued November 12, 2013—Decided January 27, 2014 Long-time drug user Banka died following an extended binge that in- cluded using heroin purchased from petitioner Burrage. Burrage pleaded not guilty to a superseding indictment alleging, inter alia, that he had unlawfully distributed heroin and that “death . . . result- ed from the use of th[at] substance”—thus subjecting Burrage to a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence under the penalty enhance- ment provision of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U. S. C. §841(b)(1)(C). After medical experts testified at trial that Banka might have died even if he had not taken the heroin, Burrage moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing that Banka’s death could only “result from” heroin use if there was evidence that heroin was a but- for cause of death. The court denied the motion…
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