360 F. Supp. 3d 168
W.D.N.Y.2019Background
- Juma Sampson was convicted after a jury trial on multiple drug and firearms counts and sentenced to an aggregate 300 months imprisonment plus ten years supervised release.
- Sentencing included statutory mandatory minimums in effect at the time, which applied harsher penalties for crack cocaine than powder cocaine.
- Congress enacted the Fair Sentencing Act (2010) to reduce the crack/powder sentencing disparity; the First Step Act (2018) made portions of the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive.
- Sampson moved under § 404 of the First Step Act for a reduced sentence (seeking 123 months and six years supervised release); the Government and Probation agreed relief was warranted and urged a reduction to time served.
- All parties and the Court agreed the First Step Act applies and Sampson is entitled to immediate release; the dispute concerned the proper statutory vehicle and scope of relief (full resentencing vs. modification) and the appropriate post-release supervised‑release term.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which statutory vehicle governs relief under the First Step Act | Gov./Probation: use 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) to effect a guideline-based sentence reduction | Sampson: use 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(B) to permit relief expressly authorized by statute, enabling broader relief | Court did not definitively choose but treated relief as a modification rather than a plenary resentencing and granted reduction to time served |
| Whether a full (plenary) resentencing is required | Gov./Probation: not required; limited recalculation suffices | Sampson: plenary resentencing needed to obtain his requested 123-month term | Court held a full resentencing is neither required nor appropriate; recalculation/modification suffices |
| Right of defendant to be physically present for the proceeding | Sampson: presence required if plenary resentencing | Gov./Probation: presence not required for a § 3582(c) reduction; Sampson waived presence here | Court noted waiver and did not decide the broader presence issue; absence was permissible for this proceeding |
| Appropriate remedy and supervised‑release term | Sampson: specific new sentence of 123 months and six years supervised release | Gov./Probation: reduce sentence to time served; Probation recommends 8 years supervised release on Count 3 and keep other terms unchanged | Court reduced custody to time served, set supervised release on Count 3 to 8 years, left other sentence components unchanged |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Peters, 843 F.3d 572 (4th Cir. 2016) (describing Fair Sentencing Act's reduction of crack cocaine penalties)
- United States v. Tucker, 356 F. Supp. 3d 808 (S.D. Iowa 2019) (applying First Step Act retroactivity and reducing sentence under the Act)