Opinion ID: 1443313
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The 100-to-1 Crack Ratio, Considerations Post-Kimbrough

Text: The Defendants in these three cases put forth arguments, in various forms, that the application of the 100-to-1 crack ratio in the sentencing guidelines was in some way improper, unreasonable, and/or unconstitutional. While these cases were making their ways through the appeals process, the United States Supreme Court decided Kimbrough v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 558, 169 L.Ed.2d 481 (2007). In Kimbrough the Court held that the 100-to-1 ratio in the guidelines is not dictated by statute, but rather is advisory, like the rest of the sentencing guidelines, and the district court may accordingly depart from § 2D1.1's 100-to-1 ratio. Id. at 564; see United States v. Taylor, 520 F.3d 746 (7th Cir.2008). Since our circuit precedent prior to Kimbrough held that it would be unreasonable for a judge to depart from the ratio, it is understandable that district judges did not attempt to do so. With this in mind, we now must determine what to do with these cases. We found in Taylor that a limited remand was appropriate in cases where the defendant did not object to the ratio in the district court, 520 F.3d at 747-48, growing out of a plain-error standard similar to the one used when the Booker Court first held that the guidelines were advisory, see United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471, 481-84 (7th Cir.2005). We also held, in both the Booker and Kimbrough contexts, that if the district judge had made clear that she would sentence the defendant the same regardless, then a remand would be unnecessary. United States v. White, 519 F.3d 342, 349 & n. 6 (7th Cir.2008); see also Taylor, 520 F.3d at 746-47. However, the three cases before us now are distinguishable from Taylor, because Embry, Clanton, and Williams each objected to the ratio below. Thus, we are not governed by a plain-error standard of review, and the limited remand would not apply. We review for abuse of discretion. Gall v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 586, 597, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). The Court in Gall explained that [r]egardless of whether the sentence imposed is inside or outside the Guidelines range, the appellate court must review the sentence under an abuse-of-discretion standard, first ensuring there was no procedural error such as treating the Guidelines as mandatory or failing to consider § 3553(a) factors. Id. Then [a]ssuming that the district court's sentencing decision is procedurally sound, the appellate court should . . . consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence imposed under an abuse-of-discretion standard. Id. However, this distinction between abuse-of-discretion and plain-error review creates no significant practical impact in this case, since the same issues concerning us in Taylor must be dealt with here, and the remedy differs only in the form of remand. In all three cases the defendants argued the unfairness of the ratio under the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors in the district court. The sentencing judge addressed the objection to the ratio in each case, but it is clear from his comments that he viewed himself duty-bound by Congress and our precedent to unwaveringly stick with the ratio. Embry and Clanton were sentenced near the middle of their guidelines range. Williams was sentenced at the low end of his range. It is not certain from the records in any of these cases that the sentencing judge would have given the same sentences even without the guidelines; thus, like Taylor, we are not in a position to find that remands would be unnecessary. Given the holding in Kimbrough, we find that remand is readily warranted in Williams's case to allow the district court judge an opportunity to determine whether or not to sentence differently. We conclude that it was an abuse of discretion to summarily dismiss the crack disparity argument by effectively treating the ratio as mandatory and not to consider its merits under § 3553. See Gall, 128 S.Ct. at 597. This is similar to our conclusion in Taylor and similar to post- Kimbrough decisions from our sister circuits. On remand the district judge can consider the § 3553(a) arguments now knowing the crack ratio is advisory. For these reasons, with respect to the Williams case, we remand for re-sentencing. This does not end the discussion, however, for defendants Embry and Clanton. Clanton and Embry, unlike Kimbrough, Taylor, and Williams, did not have a guidelines range calculated solely under § 2D1.1 of the guidelines, which is where the infamous crack ratio is imbedded; they were career offenders sentenced pursuant to the career offender guideline, § 4B1.1. Thus, we must determine to what extent, if any, the Court's decision in Kimbrough, which technically addressed § 2D1.1, affects their sentences. Under § 4B1.1, the offense level is calculated as it would be if the defendant were not a career offender (for defendants Clanton and Embry this calculation was made pursuant to § 2D1.1). Then, the offense level is calculated using the table in the career offender provision. Section 4B1.1(b) explains that the higher offense level of the two will apply. In Embry's case the offense level under the career offender guideline table in § 4B1.1(b) was 34, and the offense level with the reference back to § 2D1.1 was 36. Since the offense level calculated under § 2D1.1 was higher than under § 4B1.1(b), Embry's offense level was 36. Thus while technically sentenced under § 4B1.1, the calculation done according to § 2D1.1 ultimately applied. Thus, he was effectively sentenced under the guideline's crack ratio. Remanding his case is appropriate, then, since the Kimbrough decision has the obvious potential to impact his sentence. Clanton's case, however, is a different matter. His offense level under § 2D1.1 was 32; under the § 4B1.1(b) table it was 34. The career offender offense level was higher, and was therefore the one ultimately used to calculate his sentence. The career offender guideline in § 4B1.1, unlike § 2D1.1's drug quantity table, does not include a crack ratio. The guideline references the offense statutory maximum, which in this case refers to the 40 year maximum found in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B) for possession of 5 grams or more of cocaine base or 500 or more grams of powder cocaine, to establish the offense levels. Thus any crack disparity is attributable to the statute not the guidelines. This is the same issue addressed in our recent case, United States v. Harris, in which we noted that [w]hile the sentencing guidelines may be only advisory for district judges, congressional legislation is not. 536 F.3d 798, 812, No. 07-2195, 2008 WL 3012362,  (7th Cir., Aug.6, 2008). We then concluded, following our sister circuits, that a sentence entered under the career offender guideline, § 4B.1.1, raises no Kimbrough problem because to the extent it treats crack cocaine differently from powder cocaine, the disparity arises from a statute, not from the advisory guidelines. Id. at , 813. Clanton's case is indistinguishable from Harris. Therefore, we conclude that Clanton is not entitled to a remand as Kimbrough does not impact his sentence.