Summary
noting that the Supreme Court in Dorsey resolved in this circuit whether the Fair Sentencing Act "applies to defendants sentenced after the Act's effective date of August 3, 2010, but whose conduct occurred before that date"
Summary of this case from United States v. MarshallOpinion
Nos. 10–14428 10–14662.
2012-07-2
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Charles Levern HUDSON, Defendant–Appellant. United States of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Carmelina Vera Rojas, Defendant–Appellant.
Lanny A. Breuer (Court–Appointed), U.S. DOJ, Joshua Stephen Johnson, U.S. DOJ, Crim. Div., Washington, DC, Lisa A. Hirsch, Anne Ruth Schultz, Wifredo A. Ferrer, Kathleen Mary Salyer, William C. Healy, Kelly S. Karase, U.S. Attorney's Office, Miami, FL, Rinku Talwar Tribuiani, U.S. Attorney's Office, Fort Pierce, FL, for Plaintiff–Appellee. Bernardo Lopez, Fed. Pub. Defender's Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Michael Caruso, Fed. Pub. Def., Fed. Pub. Defender's Office, Miami, FL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 10–14428.
Lanny A. Breuer (Court–Appointed), U.S. DOJ, Joshua Stephen Johnson, U.S. DOJ, Crim. Div., Washington, DC, Lisa A. Hirsch, Anne Ruth Schultz, Wifredo A. Ferrer, Kathleen Mary Salyer, William C. Healy, Kelly S. Karase, U.S. Attorney's Office, Miami, FL, Rinku Talwar Tribuiani, U.S. Attorney's Office, Fort Pierce, FL, for Plaintiff–Appellee. Bernardo Lopez, Fed. Pub. Defender's Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Michael Caruso, Fed. Pub. Def., Fed. Pub. Defender's Office, Miami, FL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 10–14428.
Sowmya Bharathi, Michael Caruso, Fed. Pub. Def., Fed. Pub. Defender's Office, Miami, FL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 10–14662.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Nos. 2:07–cr–14081–KMM–1, 1:10–cr–20236–AJ–2); K. Michael Moore, Adalberto Jordan, Judges.
Before DUBINA, Chief Judge, and TJOFLAT, EDMONDSON, CARNES, BARKETT, HULL, MARCUS, WILSON, PRYOR, MARTIN, FAY and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
Senior United States Circuit Judges Peter T. Fay and R. Lanier Anderson, III, elected to participate in further proceedings in this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 46(c).
United States Circuit Judge Adalberto Jordan is recused from participating in the matter pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 47.
Prior report: 645 F.3d 1234; 426 Fed.Appx. 748; 727 F.Supp.2d 1376. BY THE COURT:
We previously vacated the panels' opinions to rehear these appeals en banc. United States v. Rojas, 659 F.3d 1055 (11th Cir.2011); United States v. Hudson, 659 F.3d 1056 (11th Cir.2011). The issue before us in both cases was whether the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which raised the quantities of crack cocaine required to trigger mandatory-minimum penalties under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1), applies to defendants sentenced after the Act's effective date of August 3, 2010, but whose conduct occurred before that date.
On June 21, 2012, the United States Supreme Court answered the question and held that the more lenient mandatory-minimums in the Act do apply to all of those defendants sentenced after August 3, 2010, when the Act took effect. Dorsey v. United States, ––– U.S. ––––, 132 S.Ct. 2321, 183 L.Ed.2d 250 (2012).
Accordingly, we now vacate the defendants' sentences, and remand both appeals back to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida for re-sentencing consistent with the decision by the Supreme Court.
VACATED and REMANDED.