Sentence reduced to time served under First Step Act

Although the government argued that the defendant should be sentenced based on the amount of cocaine for which he was found responsible under the Presentence Investigation Report, or PSR, the defendant qualified for a sentence reduction under the First Step Act of 2018 and should be sentenced for the quantity of drugs for which he was indicted and found guilty. His sentence was reduced from 262 months to time served.

Background

Stephen Robinson filed a motion to reduce his sentence pursuant to the First Step Act of 2018. He asks the court to reduce his current sentence of 262 months to what he argues is his current guideline sentence of 120-150 months, which would result in a sentence of time served.

The government asserts that Robinson is ineligible for consideration of a reduction in his sentence, and in the alternative, that if he is eligible for consideration, a further reduction of his sentence is not warranted.

Analysis

The government asserts that whether a defendant is entitled to relief under the First Step Act depends on the amount of cocaine base for which he was found responsible in the PSR, rather than the amount for which he was indicted and convicted. Because Robinson was found responsible for 449 grams of cocaine base in the PSR, which would make him subject to the 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)(A) penalties, the government argues that he is not entitled to relief under the First Step Act.

Robinson responds that it is the drug weight charged in the indictment and not  the drug weight in the PSR that determines eligibility for First Step Act relief. The court in Robinson’s case found him guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent  to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, which is the amount to which he pleaded guilty. This court is not free to ignore that finding and impose a penalty based on 889 grams of cocaine base referenced in the PSR.

The government next argues that if the court finds Robinson eligible for consideration under the First Step Act, it should exercise its discretion to deny him relief in light of the drug weight. It claims that if Robinson had been prosecuted after passage of the Fair Sentencing Act, he would have been subject to prosecution for possession of at least 280 grams of cocaine base, making him eligible for the 10-years-to-life sentencing range found in 21 U.S.C. § 841(6)(1)(A).

Nearly all other district courts, including this one, have rejected the notion that a court should engage in “a series of hypotheticals  about what might have happened had aspects of the case been fundamentally altered.” While it is possible that the government would have proceeded against Robinson under 18 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), it also is possible that it would have chosen not to do so. Thus, this court declines to assume that Robinson would have been charged and convicted of possessing more than 280 grams of cocaine base if the Fair Sentencing Act had been in effect at the time he was convicted.

The government further argues that a reduction in Robinson’s sentence would constitute an unjustified windfall to him based upon the date of his prosecution and offends the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among similarly situated offenders. While the court is aware of the need for consistent sentences among defendants, it is not free to ignore either the law or constitutional precedent. This court finds that the First Step Act applies to Robinson and finds that it is compelled to look only at the quantity of drugs for which Robinson was indicted and found guilty when determining whether he is entitled to a sentence reduction.

The court finds that it has authority to modify Robinson’s sentence, taking into account the advisory nature of the guidelines, the considerations set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and Robinson’s post-conviction activities. The court finds that although Robinson’s current sentencing range is 188-235 months, a sentence below the guidelines range is warranted. Accordingly, the court modifies Robinson’s sentence to time served, to be followed by a four-year term of supervised release. Finally, although Robinson is eligible for a sentence reduction under the First Step Act, he is not entitled to modification of his status as a career offender.

United States v. Robinson, Case No. 06-cr-00014, Nov. 13, 2019. WDVA at Harrisonburg (Urbanksi). VLW 019-3-539. 16 pp.