Court Opinion

ID: 220827
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2011-07-13 00:01:22+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:28:47.314179
License: Public Domain

ORDER
 

  Bryan Campbell brokered a meeting between a crack dealer and a potential customer. His stint as a middleman landed him a conviction for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. On appeal Campbell argues that the district court should have postponed his sentencing until the Fair Sentencing Act went into effect. We disagree; the court did not have the authority to postpone Campbell’s sentencing to allow him to take advantage of a change in the law regarding sentences in crack cases. Campbell also contends that the district court ought to have sentenced him below his guidelines range using the powder-cocaine guidelines, as the court had done with his codefendant, the crack dealer. On this issue we conclude that the court did not sufficiently explain its refusal to use the same approach in sentencing Campbell, so we vacate Campbell’s sentence and remand for additional explanation.