United States v. Kim Annon Bishop

103 F.3d 141 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Kim Annon BISHOP, Defendant-Appellant. No. 95-17336. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Oct. 11, 1996. Decided Dec. 09, 1996. Before: WOOD, JR., * SCHROEDER, and HALL, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 Kim Annon Bishop ("Bishop") pled guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The federal sentencing guidelines in effect at the time imposed a significantly harsher sentence on defendants convicted of crimes involving dextro-methamphetamine ("D-methamphetamine") than on defendants convicted of crimes involving levo-methamphetamine ("L-methamphetamine"). Because of this disparity, a district court was required to sentence a defendant as if he possessed L-methamphetamine unless the government proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant…