Elion v. United States, No. 20-1725 (7th Cir. 2023)
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In 2017, Elion pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). The Probation Office classified him as a career offender, U.S.S.G. 4B1.1(a), 4B1.2(b), yielding a heightened Guidelines range, 151–188 months, rather than 70-87 months. Elion’s attorney did not challenge the enhancement. Elion appealed his 167-month sentence, but his attorney moved to withdraw. Elion voluntarily dismissed his appeals. Months later, Elion filed a pro se motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence, 28 U.S.C. 2255. Elion argued that had trial counsel objected to the career offender designation, he would have received a lower Guidelines range and a much-reduced sentence. Elion’s prior convictions were a 1999 Illinois conviction for unlawful delivery of a look-alike substance within 1,000 feet of public housing property, a 2000 Illinois conviction for unlawful delivery of a look-alike substance, and a 2006 federal conviction for distribution of a cocaine base.
The Seventh Circuit reversed the denial of Elion’s motion. The Illinois look-alike statute punishes conduct more broadly than the Guidelines controlled substance offense, and it is indivisible. Elion should not have been sentenced as a career offender. The district court must examine whether his attorney’s performance was deficient under the Strickland standard.
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