United States v. Akers

The DC Circuit joined its sister circuits and held that defendant was ineligible for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) because Amendment 782 does not lower the sentencing range in the career-offender provision of the Sentencing Guidelines. In 2012, defendant pleaded guilty to unlawful distribution of more than 28 grams of cocaine base and was sentenced to 156 months in prison. The court held that the fact that Amendment 782 lowered the sentencing range for defendant's underlying offense did not support a sentence reduction under Section 3582(c)(2). Furthermore, a reduction of defendant's sentence would not be consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's judgment. View "United States v. Akers" on Justia Law