After handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell penned a scathing criticism of the minimum-mandatory laws. Cassell pointed out that someone convicted of raping a 10-year-old child or detonating a bomb on an aircraft get less time in the federal system than Angelos.

But getting the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case is no small task. The brief, which was filed last week, must appeal to the intellect of the justices and their clerks.

Luna said this is a case of federal prosecutors stacking an unreasonable amount of prison time against a defendant to get him to fold to a plea bargain. Originally, federal prosecutors sought 105 years in prison for Angelos, but a judge lowered that. Prosecutors then pressed Angelos to accept a 15-year plea deal, which he rejected.

What Congress is essentially doing, Luna said, is taking away a judge's ability to judge.

"Mandatory minimums make prosecutors the real sentencers in the federal system," Luna said, "and convert trial judges into notaries in black robes."

Recently the Supreme Court requested a reply brief from the U.S. Solicitor General's Office. Such a move does not mean the court will grant a hearing in the case but is an indication that at least some of the justices are interested in the issue.

Luna said under the "rule of four" they must convince at least four of the nine justices to take the case in order for it to be heard. A final decision will be made Sept. 25. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah said it could not comment on the case but referred to pleadings filed before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The government has argued that judges are bound to carry out the will of Congress, which in this case is to battle the dangerous combination of drugs and guns.

Yet several heavy-hitting legal minds disagreed, saying this sentence crossed the line into cruel and unusual punishment. This was detailed in a "friend of the court" brief filed by former U.S. attorneys general Janet Reno, Benjamin Civiletti, Griffin Bell and Nicholas Katzenbach and nearly 160 other ex-Justice Department officials and federal judges.

Last January, the 10th Circuit upheld Angelos' sentence. "In our view, the district court failed to accord proper deference to Congress' decision to severely punish criminals who repeatedly possess firearms in connection with drug-trafficking crimes and erroneously downplayed the seriousness of Angelos' crimes," the 10th Circuit Court opinion said.

The circuit court went on to say there were indications that Angelos was a known gang member and a moderate drug dealer, saying the fact that Angelos was a first-time offender appeared to be more luck than anything else — something Luna takes issue with.

The Angelos defense team indicated it may have some groups waiting in the wings to file friends of the court briefs in the event the case is accepted, but said it could not talk about who they are.

Luna said regardless of one's position on the war on drugs, "the punishment in this case is simply beyond the pale."

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com