Tommy L. Rutledge v. United States (517 U.S. 292)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 27, 1996 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 517 U.S. 292 · 116 S. Ct. 1241
- Decided
- March 27, 1996
- Term
- October Term 1995
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. A jury found petitioner guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in violation of 84 Stat. 1265, as amended, 21 U. S. C. § 846, and of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE) in violation of § 848. The “in concert” element of his CCE offense was based on the same agreement as the § 846 conspiracy. The question presented is whether it was therefore improper for the District Court to sentence him to concurrent life sentences on the two counts. I Petitioner organized and supervised a criminal enterprise that distributed cocaine in Warren County, Illinois, from 1988 until December 1990, when he was arrested by federal agents. He was charged with several offenses, of which only Count One, the CCE charge, and Count Two, the conspiracy charge, are relevant to the issue before us. Count One alleged that during the period between early 1988 and late 1990, petitioner violated §848 by engaging in a CCE that consisted of a series of unlawful acts involving the distribution of cocaine. The count alleged that these actions were undertaken “in concert with at least five (5) other persons,” that petitioner supervised those other persons, and that he obtained substantial income from the continuing series of violations. App. 2-3. .Count Two separately alleged that during the same period, petitioner…
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