Vaughn v. United States

On February 11, 1964, petitioner-appellant, Booker T. Vaughn, after a prior court trial and findings of guilty of violations of the narcotics laws of the United States, 26 U.S.C.A. § 4705(a) and 21 U.S.C.A. § 174,1 was sentenced by the district court to imprisonment for a term of eight years. The court stated that insofar as 18 U.S.C.A. § 4208(a) (2),2 which allows the sentencing court to fix a prisoner's eligibility for parole at time of sentencing, was applicable, it was to be applied in the service of the sentence. 18 U.S.C.A. § 4208(a) (2), however, was not intended to apply to any offense for which there is provided a mandatory penalty.3 Sentencing under 26 U.S.C.A. § 4705(a) and 21 U.S.C.A. § 174 is mandatory.4