United States v. Fowowe, No. 20-3197 (7th Cir. 2021)
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In 2008, pursuant to a plea agreement, Fowowe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 or more grams of crack cocaine. The district court determined that Fowowe’s sentencing range was a statutory mandatory minimum of life imprisonment and sentenced Fowowe to 262 months’ imprisonment. In 2015, Fowowe sought a reduced sentence pursuant to Amendment 782 to the federal sentencing guidelines, to which the government agreed; the district court reduced Fowowe’s sentence to 235 months.
Although the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 had reduced the amount and kind of punishment for crack cocaine convictions like Fowowe’s, the changes only became retroactive with the First Step Act of 2018, 132 Stat. 5194. Fowowe unsuccessfully requested a reduced prison sentence under section 404(b) of the First Step Act.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of relief, rejecting Fowowe’s argument that the district court’s evaluation of his request was deficient because the court failed to apply a 2020 Seventh Circuit decision concerning sentencing enhancements for prior cocaine convictions. Section 404(b) authorizes but does not require district courts to apply an intervening judicial decision in evaluating First Step Act motions.
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