United States v. Smith, No. 12-3350 (7th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseA tip identified Smith as a possible cocaine dealer. With a search warrant, agents arrived at his apartment to discover 806.5 grams of powder cocaine, 148.6 grams of crack cocaine, 603.4 grams of marijuana, and a loaded handgun. Smith admitted that the drugs were his and that he intended to distribute them. Smith agreed to plead guilty to the cocaine count, to cooperate, and to waive his appellate rights. The government agreed to dismiss two counts, not to pursue enhanced statutory penalties based on Smith’s prior narcotics conviction, to recommend that Smith receive maximum credit for acceptance of responsibility, to consider filing a motion to reduce the Sentencing Guidelines range in recognition of cooperation, and to recommend that the court impose a sentence at the bottom of the Guidelines range. The court overruled Smith’s objections to the sentencing report, which produced an advisory range of 188 to 235 months, but ultimately imposed a sentence of 168 months. The Seventh Circuit rejected an argument that a competent attorney would have recognized the problem with a reckless homicide conviction as a predicate for career offender status, and that his counsel was ineffective for not objecting. On that basis, he asks us to vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing. The court relied on Smith’s waiver of his appellate and the thorough colloquy before the court accepted the plea.
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