U.S. v. McSwain

Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendant’s motion for reduction of his 300-month sentence under section 404(b) of First Step Act on his convictions for conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine, where said section permits Dist. Ct. to use discretion in reducing punishment for crack cocaine offenses that occurred prior to August 3, 2010. While Dist. Ct., in denying defendant’s request, found that defendant was not legally eligible for his requested relief because he had been found guilty of quantity of heroin that qualified him for mandatory minimum sentence, Ct. of Appeals found that Dist. Ct.’s ineligibility finding was in error, where defendant’s conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine conviction was covered offense that was subject to sentence reduction even though defendant was also convicted of offense that was not covered under First Step Act. Moreover, Dist. Ct. failed to address intervening case law that had potential to disqualify defendant’s prior 1999 Illinois conviction as predicate offense that had been used to enhance his original sentence. Too, remand was required, where Dist. Ct.’s decision not to use discretion to consider intervening case law amounted to abuse of discretion, where Dist. Ct. held belief that he had no such discretion to exercise.