Jamarcus G. Jackson v. United States

Whether a district court can infer that unseized methamphetamine has similar purity to seized methamphetamine. If so, what specific evidence must support such an inference, i.e., the source of the drugs, the pricing of the drugs, and/or the purity of other drugs from the same supplier at the same or a comparable price. Under any standard, the District Court, the Government, and the PSR failed to offer sufficient evidence to support such an assumption by a preponderance of the evidence. A decision by this Court could further the purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 3553 and the Sentencing Guidelines, assuring district courts impose uniform reasonable and individualized sentences regardless of the location of the federal courthouse in which a defendant is prosecuted. This Court should grant a writ of certiorari, address this error, and provide guidance for a situation (1) likely to recur and to further unduly burden some defendants with constitutionally excessive sentences; and (2) that will unduly burden all citizens by imposing unnecessary costs related to excessive incarceration. -i-