Source: http://tn.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20190923_0001167.ETN.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2020-08-13 12:19:44
Document Index: 191244933

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 841', '§ 841', '§ 841', '§ 841', '§ 841', '§ 841']

This criminal case is before the Court on the defendant’s April 23, 2019 motion for sentence reduction. [Doc. 114]. Through counsel, the defendant asks the Court to reduce his sentence pursuant to Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194, which retroactively applies certain provisions of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-220, 124 Stat. 2372.
The United States has filed its response. [Doc. 115]. For the reasons that follow, the defendant’s motion will be granted in part.
I. Defendant’s Eligibility for First Step Act Relief.
In 2007, a jury found the present defendant guilty possessing with the intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B). Prior to the Fair Sentencing Act, 21 U.S.C. § 841 (as applied to the present defendant) mandated an enhanced sentence of ten years to life imprisonment for violations of section 841(a)(1) involving five grams or more of cocaine base. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B)(iii) (2007). For 841(a)(1) violations involving less than five grams of cocaine base, the relevant enhanced statutory imprisonment range was (and remains) zero to thirty years. See Id . § 841(b)(1)(C). Since the enactment of the Fair Sentencing Act, the 841(b)(1)(B)(iii) penalties now apply only to offenses involving 28 grams or more of cocaine base. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) (2019); Dorsey v. United States, 567 U.S. 260, 269 (2012).
. . . This is a categorial decision based on the type of prior conviction, not any particular quantity determination. The Court then determines whether to exercise its discretion to reduce the defendant's sentence. . . . Based on this information, the Court will then determine the extent of any reduction it decides in its discretion to award, consistent with statutory limits, non-binding guideline considerations, and the Section 3553 factors.
United States v. Boulding, 379 F.Supp. 3d 646, 648, 651, 654 (W.D. Mich. 2019).
As noted, the instant defendant was found guilty possessing with the intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B). Section 2 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 modified the statutory penalties for that federal criminal statute. See Fair Sentencing Act, 124 Stat. 2372. The defendant committed his crime in 2005. [Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”), ¶ 6]. Thus, he was sentenced by this Court for “a covered offense” and is eligible to be considered for First Step Act relief.