Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s Rule 35(a) motion to reconsider his 144-month term of incarceration on drug and firearm charges, even though prosecutor erroneously told Dist. Ct., in response to defendant’s argument that he had turned his life around, that defendant had tested positively for presence of one unauthorized drug on evening before sentencing hearing. Instant sentence was within applicable guideline range, and Dist. Ct. noted that it would have sentenced defendant to longer sentence had it not been for govt.’s recommendation of 144-month sentence that was made prior to asserting instant erroneous information about defendant’s drug use. Moreover, defendant could not use Rule 35(a) to seek instant relief, where defendant was only seeking to address factual mistake made by litigant. Ct. further noted that Dist. Ct. did not rely on false information provided by prosecutor when imposing instant sentence.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Sentencing