Kansas City, Mo. ? Attorneys for a Kansas City pharmacist in prison for diluting cancer drugs say a recent Supreme Court ruling should invalidate his 30-year sentence.

Robert Courtney was sentenced in 2002 after pleading guilty to 20 counts of product tampering and adulterating drugs meant for chemotherapy patients. Prosecutors said the scheme, which Courtney admitted lasted almost a decade, might have affected about 98,000 prescriptions for 4,200 patients.

As part of a plea agreement, Courtney’s lawyers approved a sentencing range of between 17 to almost 22 years in prison, but placed a cap of 30 years if the judge found reasons to go beyond that range.

U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith went with the 30-year maximum, saying Courtney’s admissions of diluting other drugs justified the stiffest penalty.

But Courtney’s lawyers, J.R. Hobbs and Brian Gaddy, said the U.S. Supreme Court determined in June that judges can base sentences only on factors proven beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury or admitted in a plea agreement.

The attorneys submitted paperwork last week, asking the Supreme Court to throw out Courtney’s 30-year sentence and return the case to Kansas City federal court for resentencing.

“The judge in this case could not have imposed the upward departure solely on the facts admitted by (Courtney) at his guilty plea hearing,” the lawyers wrote. “The upward departure violates the Sixth Amendment and the rule announced in (the Supreme Court’s decision).”

U.S. Atty. Todd Graves said he had seen Courtney’s motion but that he was “confident we’re on firm footing on this appeal.”

The chances for Courtney’s appeal are slim. The Supreme Court accepts very few petitions every year, but the legal community’s desire for the Supreme Court to clarify its sentencing ruling could make the motion more attractive.

The court has already agreed to hear two cases in October to help explain whether federal sentencing guidelines follow the Constitution.

Courtney’s lawyers said their client, while he admitted to diluting additional drugs, never admitted that that caused “serious bodily injury,” which they said must be proven in court for the federal offense of product tampering.

They also said prosecutors didn’t prove that Courtney’s actions caused “extreme psychological injury.”

But prosecutors note that the plea agreement itself limits Courtney’s appeals and prevents Courtney from challenging the constitutionality of his sentence. In addition, Smith didn’t rule on a count that Courtney’s dilution caused the premature death of Evelyn Coates.

If the sentence is tossed out, Graves said, Smith could use that one to reinstate the sentence because Smith told Courtney at sentencing that he felt the dilution did help kill Coates.