Sperling v. United States of America

Whether 18 U.S.C. § 3583(k) is unconstitutional in violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments as held by the Tenth Circuit in United States v. Haymond, 869 F.3d 1153 (10th Cir. 2017).

Petitioner was convicted of possession of child pornography. His sentence was for 39 months in custody and ten years of supervised release. He was later arrested for allegedly violating the terms of his supervised release. The district court found that he had indeed violated the terms of his supervised release and revoked it under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(k), sentencing him to the mandatory minimum of five years. Under the statute the court may do this if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the subject violated a condition of supervised release. Petitioner appealed the decision arguing that the five year minimum sentence required by the statute is based on facts neither admitted nor found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt and thus violates the Sixth Amendment under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 491 (2000) and Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. Petitioner argues in his brief to the Supreme Court that the decision is unconstitutional and conflicts with United States v. Haymond, 869 F.3d 1153 (10th Cir, 2017). The Court granted certiorari and ordered summary disposition concurrently. The Court vacated the judgment and remanded to the Ninth Circuit for further consideration due to the recently decided United States v. Haymond, 588 U.S. ___ (2019). VACATED and REMANDED.