United States District Court, W.D. North Carolina, Asheville Division
ORDER
Martin
Reidinger, United States District Judge.
THIS
MATTER is before the Court upon the Defendant's
Unopposed Motion for Amended Judgment under the First Step
Act of 2018 [Doc. 935]. The Government, through counsel,
consents to the requested relief.
In July
2009, the Defendant was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy
to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine
base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846. The
jury found that the Defendant's offense involved at least
50 grams of cocaine base but less than 150 grams, a finding
that triggered the enhanced penalties of § 841(b)(1)(A).
Based on that finding, and the Government's filing of an
§ 851 notice of prior conviction, the Defendant faced a
statutory minimum sentence of 240 months. At sentencing in
August 2009, the Court imposed the required 240-month
sentence and a ten-year term of supervised release.
[See Doc. 349: Judgment at 2-3].
On
August 3, 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Pub. L.
111-220, went into effect. Section 2 of the Act increased the
quantity of cocaine base required to trigger the enhanced
penalties of Section 841. Specifically, it raised the
(b)(1)(A) threshold from “50 grams” to “280
grams” and the (b)(1)(B) threshold from “5
grams” to “50 grams.” Section 3 eliminated
the mandatory minimum for simple possession of cocaine base
under 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). Congress did not apply these
changes retroactively to defendants sentenced before the
Act's passage. Accordingly, the Defendant could not
obtain relief under the Fair Sentencing Act.
On
December 21, 2018, the President signed into law the First
Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-135. Section 404 of the Act
gives retroactive effect to the changes made by Sections 2
and 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. Section 404(a)
defines a “covered offense” as “a violation
of a Federal criminal statute, the statutory penalties for
which were modified by Section 2 or 3 of the Fair Sentencing
Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-220; 124 Stat. 2372), that was
committed before August 3, 2010.” Section 404(b) then
provides that “[a] court that imposed a sentence for a
covered offense may . . . impose a reduced sentence as if
Section 2 or 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (Public Law
111-220; 124 Stat. 2372) were in effect at the time the
covered offense was committed.”
The
Defendant is eligible for relief under the First Step Act
because she was convicted of a “covered offense”
under Section 404(a)'s definition. Her offense was
committed before August 3, 2010; she was subjected to a
20-year statutory minimum under Section 841(b)(1)(A); and
that statutory penalty was “modified by Section 2 . . .
of the Fair Sentencing Act.” Because the Defendant is
eligible for relief, this Court has the discretion under
Section 404(b) to “impose a reduced sentence” in
accordance with Section 841(b)(1)(C)'s statutory
penalties, which provide for a ten-year mandatory minimum of
imprisonment and a maximum term of life, along with an
eight-year minimum term of supervised release.
Applying
the Sentencing Guidelines as they existed at the time of the
Defendant's sentencing, but modifying any calculation of
the Guidelines range as though Sections 2 and 3 of the Fair
Sentencing Act were in effect at the time that the Defendant
committed the offense, reduces the Defendant's Guidelines
term of 240 months (the statutory mandatory minimum) to a
range with a low end of 120 months.[1] See U.S.S.G. §
5A. This Court previously sentenced the Defendant to the
statutory mandatory minimum of 240 months. A proportionate
reduction under the First Step Act would yield a sentence of
120 months, the revised statutory mandatory minimum.
The
Defendant's sentence has not been previously reduced by
the operation of Sections 2 or 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act
of 2010, and no previous motion has been made by the
Defendant pursuant to Section 404 of the First Step Act of
2018.
Finally,
the Court notes that the Supplemental Presentence Report
indicates that the Defendant has received no disciplinary
actions while in custody. [See Doc. 936: Supp. PSR
at 2]. Additionally, the Defendant has successfully completed
numerous educational programs and work assignments. With good
time earned, she currently has a total of 138 months of BOP
credited time. [Id.]. Thus, the Defendant has served
more than the ten-year mandatory minimum required by the Fair
Sentencing Act.
For all
these reasons, the Court concludes that the Defendant is
eligible for relief in the form of a reduced sentence
pursuant to the First Step Act of 2018 and 18 U.S.C. §
3582(c)(1)(B) (allowing the court to modify a sentence
“to the extent otherwise expressly permitted by
statute”).
Based
on the entire record of the case, including the
Defendant's disciplinary record with the BOP, the Court,
in its discretion, reduces the Defendant's sentence to a
period of time served plus ten (10) days. The Defendant's
term of supervised release shall be reduced to a period of
eight (8) years.
IT
IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Defendant's
Unopposed Motion for Amended Judgment under the First Step
Act of 2018 filed by counsel [Doc. 935] is
GRANTED, and the Defendant's sentence is
hereby reduced to Time Served plus ten (10) days and the term
of supervised release is hereby reduced to eight (8) years.
All other terms and conditions of the Defendant's
Judgment [Doc. 349] shall remain in full force and effect.
The
Clerk is respectfully directed to prepare an Amended Judgment
in accordance with this Order.
The
Clerk is further directed to provide copies of this Order to
the Defendant, counsel for the Defendant, the United States
Attorney, the United States Marshals Service, the United
States ...