## Facts

- Lulzim Kupa was charged in the Eastern District of New York with a nonviolent cocaine-trafficking conspiracy involving approximately five kilograms, triggering a 10-year mandatory minimum under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A).
- Kupa had two prior felony drug convictions involving marijuana, one at age 22 and another at age 30.
- Under 21 U.S.C. § 851, the government may file an information alleging qualifying prior drug felonies; in a § 841(b)(1)(A) case with two such priors, the mandatory minimum becomes life imprisonment.
- During plea negotiations, the government offered an anticipated sentence of roughly ten years (Guidelines range described as about 110–137 months) if Kupa pleaded guilty by a stated deadline.
- After Kupa did not accept the offer and indicated he would proceed to trial, the government filed a § 851 information based on the two priors, increasing the trial exposure from a 10-year mandatory minimum to a mandatory life sentence.
- Following the § 851 filing, Kupa agreed to plead guilty under a revised agreement calling for an 11-year sentence.
- The court accepted the plea and sentenced Kupa to 132 months’ imprisonment, issuing a published statement of reasons critiquing mandatory minimums and the use of § 851 in federal drug cases.

## Issues

1. How are mandatory minimum drug penalties and § 851 prior-felony informations functioning in federal practice, and do they align with the intended use of recidivist enhancements?
2. Whether using § 851 filings or threats primarily to induce guilty pleas or cooperation, rather than to reflect culpability, improperly distorts sentencing and effectively punishes the choice to go to trial.
3. How the court should justify the agreed 132-month sentence for Kupa within the statutory framework and the Sentencing Guidelines while addressing the consequences of the § 851 regime.

## Decision

- The court accepted the guilty plea and imposed the negotiated sentence of 132 months (11 years).
- The court found the sentence reasonable for Kupa’s offense conduct and criminal history, while stating that a mandatory life sentence would be grossly disproportionate.
- The court sharply criticized the prevailing prosecutorial practice of threatening and filing § 851 enhancements to secure guilty pleas and cooperation, describing it as unjust and unfair in operation.
- The court concluded that internal charging guidance (including then-recent DOJ policy changes) did not eliminate the coercive leverage created by § 851 and that reform was needed to restore judicial sentencing discretion.

## Legal Principles

- A § 851 information can transform the mandatory minimum for certain drug offenses from years to life imprisonment, making the filing decision a dominant driver of sentencing outcomes.
- Recidivist enhancements were described as intended for selective use against serious repeat traffickers, but discretionary application tied to plea posture can produce extreme “trial penalties.”
- Plea bargaining in the shadow of mandatory enhancements may pressure defendants to forgo trial to avoid punishment that prosecutors themselves may view as excessive, raising fairness concerns in the administration of sentencing.
- A sentencing court may impose a substantial custodial term consistent with the Guidelines and the statutory scheme while separately criticizing how mandatory minimum and enhancement mechanisms constrain proportionate sentencing and shift power to prosecutors.

## Conclusion

The court sentenced Kupa to 132 months pursuant to a plea agreement and used its statement of reasons to condemn the use of § 851 enhancements as leverage to obtain guilty pleas, emphasizing that the resulting disparity between plea and trial outcomes can generate disproportionate sentences and undermine fair sentencing in federal drug prosecutions.


United States v. Kupa, 976 F. Supp. 2d 417 (E.D.N.Y. 2013)