United States v. Mitchell

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  No. 08-10027 Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  D.C. No.

CR-04-00010-ECR

JERMAINE ALONZO MITCHELL,

OPINION

Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Edward C. Reed, Senior District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted October 20, 2008—San Francisco, California

Filed June 23, 2009

Before: J. Clifford Wallace, Sidney R. Thomas and Susan P. Graber, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Wallace; Dissent by Judge Thomas COUNSEL

Dennis A. Cameron, Reno, Nevada, for the defendant- appellant. 7502 UNITED STATES v. MITCHELL William R. Reed, Assistant United States Attorney, Reno, Nevada, for the plaintiff-appellee.

OPINION

WALLACE, Senior Circuit Judge:

Mitchell appeals from his conviction and sentence for pos- session with intent to distribute cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count One), and possession of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844 (Count Two). On Count One, he was sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment without release…