United States v. Randall, No. 12-31193 (5th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine (Count 1), and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On appeal, defendant argued that the district court erred by imposing the statutory mandatory minimum sentence for Count 1. Defendant was found guilty on a conspiracy charge in which the overall conspiracy involved a sufficient amount of drugs to trigger an increased mandatory minimum penalty under 21 U.S.C. 841 and 846; the Factual Basis and PSR only attributed a lesser quantity of drugs to defendant, which would not be sufficient to trigger the statutory mandatory minimum sentence; and the district court expressly adopted the facts set out in the PSR. The court concluded that the district court plainly erred in imposing the mandatory minimum sentence and, given the disparity between the otherwise applicable Guidelines range of 70 to 87 months and the erroneously applied 120-month statutory mandatory minimum the district court applied, the error affected defendant's substantial rights and failure to to correct the error would seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Accordingly, the court vacated and remanded for resentencing.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on February 9, 2015.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on March 10, 2015.
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