Mitchell v. United States

526 U.S. 314, 119 S.Ct. 1307, 143 L.Ed.2d 424 (1999)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
M
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Mitchell v. United States

United States Supreme Court
526 U.S. 314, 119 S.Ct. 1307, 143 L.Ed.2d 424 (1999)

Play video

Facts

In 1995, Amanda Mitchell (defendant) pled guilty in federal court to distributing cocaine. Mitchell did not have a plea agreement and reserved the right at sentencing to challenge the drug quantity for which she was responsible. During the guilty plea, the district court advised Mitchell that she was waiving her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent at trial by pleading guilty. When asked if she had committed the acts necessary to be found guilty, Mitchell responded, “Some of it.” At the sentencing hearing, the United States government (plaintiff) offered witnesses who testified regarding Mitchell’s role in drug dealing and generally to the amounts she handled. Mitchell did not testify or offer evidence at sentencing, but her counsel argued that the prosecution could only attribute a minimal amount of drugs to her. The district court ruled that Mitchell did not have the right to remain silent at sentencing and expressly held her silence against her in sentencing her to the mandatory 10-year sentence for selling more than five kilograms of cocaine. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kennedy, J.)

Dissent (Thomas, J.)

Dissent (Scalia, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Criminal Procedure
Evidence

Key Terms