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United States v. Bishawi

United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Nov 14, 2013
541 F. App'x 711 (7th Cir. 2013)

Opinion

No. 13-2753

11-14-2013

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. AHMAD BISHAWI, Defendant-Appellant.


NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION

To be cited only in accordance with

Fed. R. App. P. 32.1


Before


WILLIAM J. BAUER, Circuit Judge


FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge


DANIEL A. MANION, Circuit Judge


Appeal from the United

States District Court for the

Southern District of Illinois.


No. 97-CR-40044-MJR-01


Michael J. Reagan, Judge.


Order

Ahmad Bishawi is serving a sentence of 20 years' imprisonment for crack-cocaine offenses. After the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 took effect, and the Sentencing Commission reduced the Guideline ranges with retroactive effect, Bishawi asked the district court for a reduction under 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(2). The district court denied this motion because Bishawi's sentence already is at the statutory minimum, so he cannot receive any benefit from the lower Guidelines.

Bishawi's brief on appeal appears to reflect a belief that all defendants sentenced before the 2010 Act took effect can be resentenced afterward—because only a new sentence under the Act's revised terms would reduce the statutory minimum sentence. But the Supreme Court held in Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321 (2012), that the 2010 Act applies only to persons sentenced on or after August 3, 2010. Bishawi was sentenced in 1999. A motion under §3582(c)(2) differs from resentencing. See Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 917 (2010). Nor does it entitle a defendant to reopen issues, such as the quantity of drugs involved, resolved at the original sentencing. See, e.g., United States v. Poole, 550 F.3d 676 (7th Cir. 2008). We have therefore held that persons who received a statutory-minimum sentence before August 3, 2010, cannot receive any benefit from the 2010 Act. United States v. Foster, 706 F.3d 887 (7th Cir. 2013).

Foster and Poole control this appeal. The judgment of the district court is affirmed.


Summaries of

United States v. Bishawi

United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Nov 14, 2013
541 F. App'x 711 (7th Cir. 2013)
Case details for

United States v. Bishawi

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. AHMAD BISHAWI…

Court:United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Date published: Nov 14, 2013

Citations

541 F. App'x 711 (7th Cir. 2013)