Opinion ID: 1208474
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Harris's case is remanded in light of Kimbrough.

Text: Harris challenges only his sentence. At his sentencing hearing about a month after Kimbrough, Harris's counsel argued that Harris should receive the ten-year statutory mandatory minimum, or, in light of recent Supreme Court cases, a sentence more consistent with that of a powder cocaine offender. By doing so, the government agrees that Harris preserved his Kimbrough argument for review. During the hearing, Harris's counsel also called Harris a rarity and pointed out that he had no criminal history points, had been employed at the time his case went to trial, and had the support of his mother and other family members who were present at the sentencing. His counsel further argued, and the government agreed, that he had a lesser role in the scheme than that of other defendants. The district court calculated Harris's advisory guidelines range of imprisonment (based on the offense involving crack cocaine) as 235 to 293 months. It did not address Harris's argument that he should receive a sentence more in line with that of a powder cocaine offender. The district court ultimately imposed a sentence of 235 months, at the low end of this range, but it said that it was truly a waste of time for someone like [Harris] to be going to prison for as long as [he's] going to be in prison. In light of this statement, the government agrees a remand is needed to ensure the district court understood that it could vary from the crack/powder ratio set forth in the guidelines, and also from the guidelines themselves. See Kimbrough, 128 S.Ct. at 575. Although the government's brief stated that a limited remand in accordance with the procedure we announced in United States v. Taylor, 520 F.3d 746, 748 (7th Cir.2008), is in order, Harris is entitled to a full resentencing because he preserved his argument by raising it at the initial sentencing hearing. See United States v. Bryant, 557 F.3d 489, 496 (7th Cir.2009) (vacating sentence and remanding for resentencing where issue preserved at sentencing hearing).