U.S. v. Speed

Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendant to mandatory life sentence on drug conspiracy charges based on defendant’s prior two state felony drug convictions. Ct rejected defendant’s argument that Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (FSA), which would have provided for a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, should have been applied to his case, which was pending on appeal at time of Act’s enactment. It also rejected defendant’s claim that his life sentence violated his 5th and 8th Amendment rights because mandatory life sentence was arbitrary when compared to potential sentence under FSA, and because said sentence for instant charged offense constituted cruel and unusual punishment.