Opinion ID: 71722
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Amendment to the Guidelines and the Second Proceeding

Text: 22 On November 1, 1993, about seven months after Escobar-Urrego was sentenced, Amendment 484 was added to the Guidelines. The amendment states in pertinent part: 23 Mixture or substance does not include materials that must be separated from the controlled substance before the controlled substance can be used.... If such material cannot readily be separated from the mixture or substance ... the court may use any reasonable method to approximate the weight of the mixture or substance to be counted. 24 Guidelines App. C, Amendment 484 (emphasis added) (amending Guidelines § 2D1.1, Application Note 1). The amendment was made retroactive, see Guidelines § 1B1.10(a) & (c), and therefore applies to Escobar-Urrego's sentence. 25 Escobar-Urrego then made a motion with the district court pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), which allows an imprisoned defendant to move for a reduced sentence if the Guidelines are changed. Escobar-Urrego argued that under the amendment to the Guidelines, his sentence should be recalculated and based on only the amount of cocaine that he imported that could be used. The government moved to deny Escobar-Urrego's motion, arguing that the same issue was raised at Escobar-Urrego's sentencing and decided against him. 26 United States Magistrate Judge Stephen T. Brown, to whom the case had been referred, recommended that Escobar-Urrego's motion be denied. After Escobar-Urrego objected, the district court adopted the magistrate judge's recommendation. Escobar-Urrego then filed this appeal.