UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Errol Eugene WASHINGTON, Defendant-Appellant.
Nos. 09-5110, 09-5171.
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.
Decided and Filed: Oct. 27, 2009.
584 F.3d 693
Before: SILER, MOORE, and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges.
Submitted: Aug. 4, 2009.
John G. Oliva, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant.
Matthew J. Everitt, Assistant United States Attorney, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellee.
OPINION
GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.
Defendant Errol Eugene Washington appeals the district court‘s order denying, in part, his motion to reduce and modify his otherwise valid sentence pursuant to
I.
On May 1, 1995, Washington was convicted by jury of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in violation of
While Washington was in prison, the Sentencing Commission adopted Amendment 706, effective November 1, 2007, which altered the drug quantity table set forth in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 to lower the base offense level for crack cocaine offenses by two levels. The Commission added Amendment 706 to the list set forth in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(c), a policy statement that designates those Guidelines amendments that may be applied retroactively.1
Based upon Amendment 706, Washington filed a motion in the district court on August 11, 2008, requesting a modification of his 1996 sentence pursuant to
Washington timely appeals.
II.
“A district court‘s denial of a motion to modify a sentence under
We review de novo the sentencing court‘s interpretation of statutes. United States v. Corrado, 304 F.3d 593, 607 (6th Cir. 2002). Regarding statutory construction, we are guided by the following well-established principles:
“[i]t is elementary that the meaning of a statute must, in the first instance, be sought in the language in which the act is framed, and if that is plain, and if the law is within the constitutional authority of the lawmaking body which passed it, the sole function of the courts is to enforce it according to its terms.” Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, 485, 37 S.Ct. 192, 61 L.Ed. 442 (1917). “If the words are plain, they give meaning to the act, and it is neither the duty nor the privilege of the courts to enter speculative fields in search of a different meaning.” Id. at 490. Recognizing the consequences of unbridled judicial forays into the legislative sphere, the Supreme Court has admonished “time and again that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there.” Arlington Cent. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Murphy, 548 U.S. 291, 296, 126 S.Ct. 2455, 165 L.Ed.2d 526 (2006) (quoting Connecticut Nat. Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 253-54, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992)). Accordingly, “[w]hen the statutory language is plain, the sole function of the courts—at least where the disposition required by the text is not absurd—is to enforce it according to its terms.” Id. (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). See also Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S. 337, 340, 117 S.Ct. 843, 136 L.Ed.2d 808 (1997) (“[The courts‘] inquiry must cease if the statutory language is unambiguous and the statutory scheme is coherent and consistent.“) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted); Rubin v. United States, 449 U.S. 424, 430, 101 S.Ct. 698, 66 L.Ed.2d 633 (1981) (“When we find the terms of a statute unambiguous, judicial inquiry is complete, except in rare and exceptional circumstances.“).
Thompson v. N. Am. Stainless, LP, 567 F.3d 804, 807 (6th Cir. 2009) (en banc).
III.
“A district court may modify a defendant‘s sentence only as provided by statute.” Perdue, 572 F.3d at 290.
The court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed except that—
* * *
(2) in the case of a defendant who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to
28 U.S.C. [§] 994(o) , upon motion of the defendant or the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or on its own motion, the court may reduce the term of imprisonment, after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, if such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.
The policy statement applicable to
In determining whether, and to what extent, a reduction in the defendant‘s term of imprisonment under
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and this policy statement is warranted, the court shall determine the amended guideline range that would have been applicable to the defendant if the amendment(s) to the guidelines listed in subsection (c) had been in effect at the time the defendant was sentenced. In making such determination, the court shall substitute only the amendments listed in subsection (c) for the corresponding guideline provisions that were applied when the defendant was sentenced and shall leave all other guideline application decisions unaffected.
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.10(b)(1) (2008).
Furthermore, the policy statement provides that the sentencing court may not reduce a sentence below the new Guidelines range: “the court shall not reduce the defendant‘s term of imprisonment under
The amended Guidelines range in the present case is 188 to 235 months of imprisonment. The district court carefully analyzed our precedents, and those of other circuits, and thereafter concluded that it did not have the authority to reduce Washington‘s sentence below 188 months. However, the district court expressly stated that were it to have discretion under
IV.
On appeal, Washington concedes that the amended Guidelines provide for a sentence of no less than 188 months. However, he argues that when considering a motion to modify a previously imposed (and otherwise valid) sentence, brought pursuant to
The government counters that
Washington responds by arguing that, in a related context, we have treated
[a] case is not yet final when it is pending on appeal. The initial sentence has not been finally “imposed” within the meaning of the safety valve statute because it is the function of the appellate court to make it final after review or see that the sentence is changed if in error. When a sentence is modified under
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) , the courts are required to consider the factors that are set out in18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) . See United States v. Townsend, 55 F.3d 168, 171-72 (5th Cir. 1995). We note that§ 3553(a) , Title 18, specifically describes the “factors to be considered in imposing a sentence” and that the courts must consider the same factors when a modified sentence is imposed as they do at initial sentencing. Those factors include the applicable sentencing range, as well as “the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant,”18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1) , “the need for the sentence imposed,”18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2) , and “the kinds of sentences available,”18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(3) . The consideration of these factors is consistent with the application of the safety valve statute. Therefore,§ 3553(a) authorizes consideration of the safety valve statute when
a defendant is otherwise properly resentenced under
§ 3582(c)(2) .
Clark, 110 F.3d at 17-18 (emphasis added); see also United States v. Gainous, 134 F.3d 372 (6th Cir. 1997) (per curiam) (unpublished table decision) (relying on Clark, holding that ”
V.
The precise issue presented in the instant case is a matter of first impression in our circuit. Nonetheless, numerous circuits have considered it. “Indeed, this court routinely looks to our sister circuits for guidance when we encounter a legal question that we have not previously passed upon.” United States v. Houston, 529 F.3d 743, 762 (6th Cir. 2008). Of the ten circuit courts to consider the issue, nine of them—the First through Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh—have rejected Booker‘s application to sentence modifications under
Only the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that a district court may reduce a sentence below the amended Guidelines range pursuant to a
In Booker, the Supreme Court held that the federal sentencing system, under which the sentencing court, rather than
However, as the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit explained in Cunningham, a district court can only decrease a defendant‘s sentence pursuant to a
Thus, the constitutional defect addressed by Booker is simply not implicated. Moreover, a section 3582(c)(2) modification is discretionary, even for a defendant whose Guideline range has been retroactively lowered. See
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (identifying circumstances in which “the court may reduce the term of imprisonment“) (emphasis added). Thus, to frame a section 3582(c)(2) reduction as a mandatory undertaking that triggers the Sixth Amendment or Booker is incorrect.
Washington responds that Booker prohibited a mandatory/non-mandatory sentencing regime, pointing to the Supreme Court‘s observation that it could “not see how it [was] possible to leave the Guidelines as binding in [some cases but not] in other cases.” Booker, 543 U.S. at 266. In its remedial opinion, the Booker Court cured the constitutional defect by excising those provisions of the Guidelines that made them mandatory, as well as striking any statutory provisions that depended on their mandatory nature. Id. at 245-46. In addition, the Court expressly rejected the government‘s proposal to “impose mandatory Guidelines-type limits upon a judge‘s ability to reduce sentences, but ... not [to] impose those limits upon a judge‘s ability to increase sentences.” Id. at 266. As the Court noted, “[w]e do not believe that such ‘one-way lever[s]’ are compatible with Congress’ intent.” Id. This language arguably supports Washington‘s position.
In Cunningham, however, the Seventh Circuit persuasively rejected this mandatory/non-mandatory dichotomy argument:
Despite this broad language, we do not believe that the Booker remedy renders the limits set by the Sentencing Commission for section 3582(c)(2) proceedings advisory. First, unlike a full sentencing or resentencing, Congress clearly intended section 3582(c)(2) proceedings to be a one way lever. Section 3582(c)(2) allows the district court to leave a sentence alone or reduce it, but it does not permit the district court to increase a sentence. Second, and more generally, while Booker‘s remedial opinion stated that “we believe that Congress would not have authorized a mandatory system in some cases and a nonmandatory system in others” due to the possible “administrative complexities” of such a system, it seems to us that allowing (or requiring) district courts to essentially conduct a full resentencing upon a section 3582(c)(2) motion would create more administrative complexity, not less. See Dunphy, 551 F.3d at 253. Finally, Booker‘s remedial opinion focused on Congressional intent. The text of section 3582(c)(2) makes clear that Congress intended section 3582(c)(2) modifications to comport with the Commission‘s policy state-
ments, an impossibility if we were to adopt the defendants’ position that Booker rendered the Guidelines wholly advisory in the context of sentence modifications (as distinguished from full sentencing proceedings).
Cunningham, 554 F.3d at 707 (footnote omitted).
We agree with the great weight of authority of our sister circuits. Simply put, there is no inherent authority for a district court to modify an otherwise valid sentence. A district court‘s discretion to modify an imposed term of imprisonment is an exception to the general rule that “[t]he court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed[.]”
When Congress granted the district courts authority to reduce otherwise valid sentences pursuant to
Although Clark and Gainous contain language supporting Washington‘s “full resentencing” argument, these opinions did not have the benefit of § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A) when they were decided. Specifically, § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A) was not added to the Guidelines until March 3, 2008, by U.S.S.G. Amendment 712. Thus, Clark and Gainous (both decided pre-Booker) are readily distinguishable. Moreover, our recent decision in Carter supports the government‘s “modification” view, as opposed to Washington‘s “full resentencing” argument. See Carter, 500 F.3d at 489, 491 (noting that
As nine of our sister circuits have recognized, plenary sentencing proceedings are distinct from
It is true that one of the factors in
section 3553(a) is the Guidelines range, which Booker made advisory. However,section 3582(c)(2) states that a district court considers thesection 3553(a) factors in making a reduction “consistent with the applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.” There need not be a conflict: the statute can be viewed as requiring district courts to consider thesection 3553(a) factors in deciding whether and to what extent to grant a sentence reduction—[because§ 3582(c)(2) is a discretionary proceeding in the first instance]—but only within the limits of the applicable policy statements.
VI.
In the present case, the district court correctly refused to order a further sentence reduction. We hold that pursuant to
KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge, concurring in the judgment. I concur in this court‘s judgment affirming the judgment of the district court.
GRIFFIN, J.
CIRCUIT JUDGE
