Opinion ID: 1450540
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Consistent with Applicable Sentencing Commission Policy Statements

Text: Permitting the reduction of Martinez's sentence under the crack cocaine amendments would also be inconsistent with U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a), the applicable Sentencing Commission policy statement, because the crack cocaine amendments do not have the effect of lowering the guidelines range on which Martinez's sentence was based§ 4B1.1. The applicable Commission policy statement, § 1B1.10(a), [4] which became effective on March 3, 2008, provides that a court may reduce a defendant's sentence so long as the reduction is consistent with the policy statement. Reducing a defendant's sentence is not consistent with the policy statement if none of the amendments listed in § 3582(c)(2) apply to the defendant, or an amendment listed therein does not have the effect of lowering the defendant's applicable guideline range. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a). As we observed in Williams, [w]e are bound by the language of this policy statement because Congress has made it clear that a court may reduce the terms of imprisonment under § 3582(c) only if doing so is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission. Williams, 551 F.3d at 186 (internal quotation marks omitted). As discussed above, Amendment 706 did not lower the defendant's applicable guideline range. It would therefore be inconsistent with U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a) to permit reduction of Martinez's sentence on the basis of the amendments to the crack cocaine guidelines.