Court Opinion

ID: 9481992
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:37:17.141538+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:42.207097
License: Public Domain

BEAM, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. In my view, the district court correctly interpreted former section 845a to require a mandatory term of imprisonment of at least twelve months. I believe Williams’s interpretation of the statute is foreclosed by this court’s decision *528in United States v. Coleman, 895 F.2d 501, 502-05 (8th Cir.1990) (government motion to depart for substantial assistance under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) is required before district court may depart from “mandatory minimum sentence” of one year imposed by section 845a). The district court could not entertain Williams’s motion to depart for substantial assistance, as only the government may make such a motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) and U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1. See id. at 505; United States v. Hubers, 938 F.2d 827, 829 (8th Cir.1991).