United States V. Flowal

Defendant-Appellant Michael Angelo Flowal appeals from the judgment entered on March 11, 1999, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, which sentenced him to life in prison without possibility of parole for possession with intent to distribute five point two (5.2) kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Flowal argues that under Bond v. United States, 529 U.S. 334, 120 S.Ct. 1462, 146 L.Ed.2d 365 (2000), the government's search of his luggage at an airport terminal violated his Fourth Amendment rights. He also argues that under Apprendi v. New Jersey, ___ U.S. ___, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), the district court erred in not letting the jury determine the weight of the cocaine he possessed.