United States v. Johnson, No. 12-3811 (6th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseIn 2006, Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of more than 50 grams of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) under an agreement specifying that his offense involved 109 grams of cocaine base. At sentencing, the district court was bound by a statutory minimum sentence of 240 months of imprisonment. The government moved for a downward departure in return for Defendant’s substantial assistance and the court granted further reductions for Defendant’s acceptance of responsibility and timely indication of intent to plead guilty. Ultimately, the district court sentenced Defendant to 130 months of imprisonment, the low end of the advisory range. Four years later the Fair Sentencing Act amended the cocaine base sentencing statute so that an offense must involve at least 280 grams of cocaine base to trigger a 10-year statutory minimum sentence. Following the district court’s original sentencing formula, but using the new statutory minimums and amended Guidelines, Defendant would now be subject to a sentence of 70 months. In 2012, Defendant sought sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2). The district court denied the motion, reasoning that Defendant was ineligible for sentence reduction. The Sixth Circuit vacated, stating an intent to give “effect to Congress’s unambiguously expressed intent that the amended Guidelines achieve consistency.”
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