United States v. Kerry Lee, Jr.
678 F. App'x 170
| 4th Cir. | 2017Background
- Kerry Donnell Lee, Jr. appealed the district court’s denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion seeking a sentence reduction based on USSG Amendments 750 and 782 (lowering base offense levels for cocaine base).
- Lee was held responsible for 51.35 kilograms of cocaine base at sentencing.
- The district court denied relief concluding Lee was not entitled to the Amendments’ benefit because he was a career offender.
- The Fourth Circuit found Lee qualified as a career offender but determined he was not actually sentenced under the career-offender guidelines.
- The court analyzed whether substituting the retroactive Amendments alone would lower Lee’s applicable Guidelines range and concluded they would not, because for amounts ≥25.2 kg the base level remains 38.
- The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of § 3582(c)(2) relief on the alternate ground that the Amendments do not lower Lee’s Guidelines range.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Lee is eligible for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) based on Amendments 750/782 | Lee argued the retroactive Amendments to the cocaine-base drug table lowered his Guidelines range and entitle him to a reduction | Government argued the Amendments do not affect Lee because his base offense level remains the same given the amount of drugs for which he was held responsible | Held: Not eligible — Amendments 750/782 do not lower Lee’s Guidelines range because he was responsible for 51.35 kg, above the thresholds where Amendments change the base level |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Smith, 395 F.3d 516 (4th Cir. 2005) (appellate court may affirm on any ground apparent from the record)
- United States v. Williams, 808 F.3d 253 (4th Cir. 2015) (standard for § 3582(c)(2) — substitute only retroactive amendments and leave other guideline decisions intact)
- United States v. Peters, 843 F.3d 572 (4th Cir. 2016) (explaining Amendments 750 and 782 and that Amendment 782 leaves base level 38 for defendants responsible for at least 25.2 kg of cocaine base)