Opinion
No. 21415
June 6, 1991
Appeal from Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; John S. McGroarty, J.
Momot Tidwell, Las Vegas, for Appellant.
Frankie Sue Del Papa, Attorney General, Carson City; Rex Bell, District Attorney and James Tufteland and Thomas Leen, Deputy District Attorneys, Clark County, for Respondent.
OPINION
On February 16, 1990, Appellant Earl Elden Wischmeier (Wischmeier) was arrested for selling $300 worth of cocaine to an undercover police officer. The district court sentenced him to three years in the Nevada State Prison and fined him $50,000 in accordance with the minimum statutory requirements set forth in NRS 453.3385(1).
NRS 453.3385(1) provides that any person who knowingly or intentionally sells or possesses any controlled substance listed in schedule I shall be punished, if the quantity involved is 4 grams or more, but less than 14 grams, by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 3 years nor more than 20 years and by a fine of not less than $50,000.
Wischmeier contends that $50,000 constitutes an excessive fine in violation of both the Nevada and the United States Constitution. We conclude that the district court properly imposed the minimum fine and that such fine is not in violation of Wischmeier's constitutional rights. See United States v. Torres, 901 F.2d 205, 247 (2d Cir. 1990). Accordingly, we
AFFIRM the district court.