Opinion ID: 2979998
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Greater-than-Necessary Sentence

Text: Finally, Harris attacks his sentence as greater than necessary to achieve the sentencing purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 3553, claiming that the predicate offenses underlying the pre-departure life -9- No. 07-5845 USA v. Harris sentence all occurred more than twenty years before the instant offense and were relatively small-scale distributions; that he maintained a “relatively drug free” lifestyle between the time he committed the predicate offenses and the instant offense; and that 300 months effectively equates to a life sentence. But, as discussed above, in light of the mandatory minimum here, the district court lacked discretion to consider these extraneous circumstances when assessing the extent of Harris’s § 3553(e) substantial assistance. See Bullard, 390 F.3d at 416.