United States v. Buckner
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
894 F.2d 975 (1990)
Reginald Buckner (defendant) was convicted of possessing 53 grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute and sentenced to 250 months under sentencing guidelines that treated approximately 100 grams of powder cocaine as equivalent in severity to just one gram of crack, reflecting Congress's determination that crack posed greater societal danger due to its potency, high addictiveness, affordability, and increasing availability; Buckner appealed, arguing this disparate treatment was unconstitutional under the Fifth and Eighth Amendments.
Whether federal sentencing guidelines imposing substantially harsher penalties for crack cocaine than for powder cocaine violate the Fifth and Eighth Amendments.