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Erlin v. United States

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Sep 11, 1969
413 F.2d 1036 (9th Cir. 1969)

Summary

In Erlin v. United States, (9 Cir. 1969) 413 F.2d 1036, this court affirmed the conviction of the defendant for selling 26 grams of LSD in powder form.

Summary of this case from United States v. Stanley

Opinion

No. 22981.

July 2, 1969. Rehearing Denied September 11, 1969.

Carl Shapiro, San Anselmo, Cal. (argued), Sal C. Balistreri, San Francisco, Cal., for appellant.

Jerrald Ladar, Asst. U.S. Atty. (argued), Cecil F. Poole, U.S. Atty., San Francisco, Cal., for appellee.

Before HAMLEY and KOELSCH, Circuit Judges, and KILKENNY, District Judge.

The Honorable John F. Kilkenny, United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, sitting by designation.


After waiver of a jury trial, appellant was convicted by the Court on a two count indictment charging him with unlawful sales of LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 331(q)(2), 321(v)(3) and 333(a), D.C., 283 F. Supp. 396.

Appellant concedes, as he must, that the constitutionality of this legislation has been previously considered and upheld as a proper delegation of authority. White v. United States, 395 F.2d 5 (1st Cir. 1968), and as a proper exercise of congressional regulatory power under the commerce clause. Deyo v. United States, 396 F.2d 595 (9th Cir. 1968); United States v. Heiman, 406 F.2d 767 (9th Cir. 1969).

Appellant would avoid the impact of these decisions by arguing that the specific designation of LSD, as a prohibited drug, is found in a regulation, rather than in the statute itself, and for that reason he was not given fair notice that his conduct was criminal in nature. Appellant is not in a position to complain. LSD was first included as a prohibited drug on May 18, 1966. This administrative finding was first published in the Federal Register on March 19, 1966. This is not a case where the act was committed immediately after issuance of the regulation. Appellant's unlawful acts, which he admits, were committed on March 1, 1967, and March 15, 1967, approximately one year after first publication in the Register. There is no claim on the part of appellant that he did not have actual knowledge of the regulation. Consequently, on the record before us, he is no position to claim lack of due process in not having received notice of the proclamation when published in the Register.

The judgment of the lower court is affirmed.


Summaries of

Erlin v. United States

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Sep 11, 1969
413 F.2d 1036 (9th Cir. 1969)

In Erlin v. United States, (9 Cir. 1969) 413 F.2d 1036, this court affirmed the conviction of the defendant for selling 26 grams of LSD in powder form.

Summary of this case from United States v. Stanley

In Erlin v. United States, 413 F.2d 1036 (9th Cir. 1969), the Court of Appeals was faced with an argument similar to that made by defendants here. Erlin had been convicted of unlawful sales of L.S.D. He sought reversal on due process grounds claiming that he had not received notice of the federal regulation designating L.S.D. as a prohibited drug under 21 U.S.C. § 331(q)(2), § 321(v)(3) and § 333(a).

Summary of this case from STATE v. GULA
Case details for

Erlin v. United States

Case Details

Full title:Darren Guy ERLIN, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Sep 11, 1969

Citations

413 F.2d 1036 (9th Cir. 1969)

Citing Cases

STATE v. GULA

Compare State v. Dally, Del.Super., 272 A.2d 781 (1970). In Erlin v. United States, 413 F.2d 1036 (9th Cir.…

United States v. Stanley

The contention is erroneous. In Erlin v. United States, (9 Cir. 1969) 413 F.2d 1036, this court affirmed the…