U.S. v. Clay

Dist. Ct. did not abuse its discretion in denying defendants’ request for reduction in their 320-month and 204-month sentences under First Step Act. Both defendants were eligible for such relief, even though their charged drug conspiracy pertained to both crack cocaine and heroin. However, Dist. Ct. did not abuse its discretion in denying their requests for relief, where Dist. Ct gave thorough consideration of relevant 3553(a) sentencing factors that included defendants’ participation in rehabilitation, their prison disciplinary history, nature and seriousness of their offenses, prior criminal history and importance of deterrence. Ct. rejected defendants’ contention that denial of their requests for reduced sentence was improper because Dist. Ct. had duty to avoid unwarranted disparate sentences when compared to sentences given to their co-defendants, since sentencing disparity between co-conspirators is not valid basis to challenge instant Guideline sentences that were otherwise correctly calculated. (Amended Opinion)