Opinion ID: 3065342
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Effective Date of the 500:1 Ratio

Text: Forrester also argues that even if the October 18, 2001 end date can be used for sentencing, the increased ratio of 500:1 did not become effective until November 1, 2001, at the earliest, because the temporary amendment was invalid. We agree that the temporary amendment’s retroactivity was invalid, but hold that the amendment became effective on June 6, 2001 when it was initially published. UNITED STATES v. FORRESTER 333 In United States v. DeLeon, the Eighth Circuit considered whether the referenced temporary amendment violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). 330 F.3d 1033, 1034 (8th Cir. 2003). The court analyzed the APA’s three-step rulemaking provisions, which require notice of the proposed rule, a hearing or receipt and consideration of public comments, and the publication of the new rule. Id. at 1036-38 (citing 5 U.S.C. § 553). The crux of the inquiry was the precise date on which the amendment became effective. The DeLeon court determined it became effective on June 6 (the publication date) even though the publication listed a retroactive effective date of May 1. 330 F.3d at 1036. [22] The court’s reasoning was two-fold. First, § 553(d) of the APA ordinarily requires that a rule be published at least 30 days prior to its effective date and, upon a showing of good cause, permits a rule to take effect immediately upon publication. Id. Therefore, even if the good cause exception applies, the earliest effective date would be the June 6 publication date. Second, the court considered whether the amendments could be retroactive to May 1. Agencies cannot adopt retroactive regulations “unless that power is conveyed by Congress in express terms.” Bowen v. Georgetown Univ. Hosp., 488 U.S. 204, 208 (1988). The government argued in DeLeon that the emergency nature of the Ecstasy Act, read together with the Sentencing Act of 1987, empowered the Commission to make the amendment retroactive. DeLeon, 330 F.3d at 1036-37. The court disagreed, holding that the “true effect of the 1987 Act is merely to imbue the Commission with the power to enact temporary rules that take effect immediately without prior Congressional approval.” Id. (emphasis added). The court reversed and remanded for resentencing of DeLeon under the former, pre-Ecstasy Act scheme. Id. at 1038. For the same reasons, we hold that the amendment to § 2D1.1 became effective on June 6, 2001 (the initial publication date). We also reject Forrester’s argument that the effective date should be the November 1 final publication date rather than the June 6 initial publication date. 334 UNITED STATES v. FORRESTER Therefore, if on remand the district court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the conspiracy continued until at least October 2001, then the enhanced 500:1 ratio was appropriately applied to Forrester’s sentence because it ended after June 6 2001, when the enhanced ratio became effective.