United States v. Jordan, No. 19-2970 (7th Cir. 2021)
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In March 2019, Jordan, convicted of crimes involving crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841, began three years of supervised release. For three months, Jordan consistently tested negative on drug tests and called the probation office to find out about his next required tests. Over two days in June 2019, he missed a drug test and two assessments, prompting his probation officer to petition to revoke his supervised release. Jordan claimed that he was mistaken about the dates of the test and assessments at issue and emphasized his efforts to comply. The district court ruled that Jordan had committed the violations, revoked his supervised release, and sentenced him to six months in prison followed by 26 months of supervised release (including 120 days in a halfway house).
The Seventh Circuit reversed. The district court did not sufficiently explain its decision, consider Jordan’s defense that his violation was unintentional, or otherwise ensure that its sentence conformed to the parsimony principle of 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). The court needed to say explicitly why it thought that six months in prison was necessary for a defendant who had tested negative on every test and committed no other violations.
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