United States v. Navarro, No. 15-10245 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and the district court imposed a below-Guidelines sentence of 113 months imprisonment. Defendant filed a motion under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) asking the district court to reduce his sentence based on Amendments 782 and 788. The district court denied the motion. As a preliminary matter, the court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting defendant's motion for an extension of time to file an appeal and the notice was timely. The court held that a district court cannot apply a retroactive amendment to reduce an already imposed sentence prior to that amendment’s effective date. The court also held that the Commission’s determination of the appropriate effective date for a retroactive amendment is not invalid simply because the Commission made reference to prisoners’ rehabilitative needs. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of Jorge Avila Alberto Navarro’s motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) for reduction of sentence based on Amendments 782 and 788 to the Sentencing Guidelines. The panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting Navarro’s motion under Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(4) for an extension of time to file an appeal, and that the notice of appeal is therefore timely. The panel held that a district court cannot apply a retroactive amendment to reduce an already imposed sentence prior to that amendment’s effective date. The panel also held that the Sentencing Commission’s determination of the appropriate effective date for a retroactive amendment is not invalid simply because the Commission made reference to prisoners’ rehabilitative needs.
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