United States v. Harrison
6:99-cr-60043-JDC-CMH
W.D. La.Feb 7, 2020Background:
- Hawthorne pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine (21 U.S.C. § 846) and was sentenced March 10, 2000 to 235 months imprisonment and 60 months supervised release.
- His sentence was reduced to 188 months on October 28, 2008 under a retroactive application of Amendment 706 to the Sentencing Guidelines.
- Hawthorne began supervised release on December 8, 2014.
- On October 25, 2019 a petition alleged Hawthorne committed a new federal offense (conspiracy to distribute fentanyl); his supervised release was revoked on November 1, 2019 and he received 46 months imprisonment for the revocation.
- Hawthorne filed a § 3582(c) motion seeking retroactive application of Amendment 782 to reduce or eliminate his original sentence and thereby nullify the supervised-release revocation.
- The court concluded Amendment 782 could not be used to reduce a completed original term of imprisonment or a term imposed upon revocation of supervised release, and denied the motion.
Issues:
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether § 3582(c) and retroactive Amendment 782 allow reducing a completed original term of imprisonment | Hawthorne seeks reduction/elimination of his original sentence under Amendment 782 to undo the supervised-release consequences | § 3582(c) authorizes reduction only of the original term of imprisonment and not revocation sentences; Amendment 782’s effective-date rules prevent relief here | Denied — cannot reduce a completed original term where amendment’s timing and § 3582(c) do not authorize it |
| Whether a court can use Amendment 782 to reduce a term imposed upon revocation of supervised release | Hawthorne implicitly contends retroactive guideline changes should affect supervised-release terms | Guidelines and § 3582(c) do not permit reducing terms imposed on revocation; USSG §1B1.10 Application Note 7A bars such reductions | Denied — § 3582(c) and Application Note 7A preclude reducing revocation sentences |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Maiello, 805 F.3d 992 (11th Cir. 2015) (discusses Amendment 782’s effect on drug-offense base offense levels)
- United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005) (held the Guidelines advisory but did not affect § 3582(c)’s limits)
- United States v. Nelson, [citation="410 F. App'x 734"] (5th Cir. 2010) (held § 3582(c) cannot be used to reduce sentences imposed on supervised-release revocation)