| Litigants: | DePierre v. United States |
| Arguedate: | February 28 |
| Argueyear: | 2011 |
| Decidedate: | June 9 |
| Decideyear: | 2011 |
| Fullname: | Frantz DePierre, Petitioner v. United States |
| Docket: | 09-1533 |
| Oralargument: | https://www.oyez.org/cases/2010/09-1533 |
| Usvol: | 564 |
| Uspage: | 70 |
| Parallelcitations: | 131 S. Ct. 2225; 180 L. Ed. 2d 114 |
| Prior: | Conviction affirmed, 599 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 2010); cert. granted, 562 U.S. ___ (2010). |
| Holding: | The term "cocaine base" in refers to cocaine in its chemically basic form. |
| Majority: | Sotomayor |
| Joinmajority: | Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Kagan; Scalia (except Part III–A) |
| Concurrence: | Scalia (in part) |
DePierre v. United States, 564 U.S. 70 (2011), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the use of the term "cocaine base" in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)[1] refers to cocaine in its chemically basic form.[2] The decision of the Court was unanimous, except with respect to Part III–A.
A federal court found Frantz DePierre guilty of distributing cocaine in April 2008. Additionally, DePierre was found guilty of distributing more than 50 grams of "cocaine base, which carries a 10-year minimum sentence." Following this conviction, DePierre was sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison followed by 5 years of supervised release. Two years later, the US Court of Appeals upheld the sentencing,
Does the term "cocaine base" cover a broad spectrum of cocaine defined chemically as a base, or is the term specifically limited to the use and distribution of "crack" cocaine?[3]
In a unanimous decision, Justice Sotomayor wrote the opinion of the Court defining cocaine base as not just crack cocaine, but any substance that contains "cocaine in its chemically basic form."[4]
Justice Scalia wrote a brief, humorous concurring opinion arguing that the Court's look into legislative history is unneeded and potentially harmful.