Mitchell v. United States

Amanda Mitchell (defendant) pled guilty without a plea agreement to distributing cocaine, reserving the right to contest at sentencing the quantity of drugs attributable to her, and during her plea colloquy admitted to "some" of the charged conduct. At the sentencing hearing, the government presented witnesses regarding her role and the drug quantities she handled, and Mitchell neither testified nor presented evidence; the district court held she had no right to remain silent at sentencing, expressly held her silence against her, and imposed the mandatory 10-year sentence for over five kilograms of cocaine. The Third Circuit affirmed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.