United States V. Dunson

This is an appeal by two defendants who pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possession of seven kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute it. The cocaine was discovered during an ostensibly consensual search of an automobile that had been stopped for speeding by a police officer assigned to a drug interdiction unit. The main issue -- preserved for appeal by the entry of conditional guilty pleas under Rule 11(a)(2), Fed. R. Crim. P. -- is whether the officer's conduct violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. One of the defendants, who was sentenced to a statutorily-mandated 20-year prison term, also contends that his sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment contrary to the Eighth Amendment.