Opinion
Case Number 07-20246
08-02-2017
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. RAYMOND JOEL JONES, Defendant.
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REDUCE SENTENCE
On October 21, 2013, defendant Raymond Jones filed a motion to reduce sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). He asks the Court retroactively to apply the reduced crack cocaine sentencing guidelines enacted under the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, citing principally the decision of the Sixth Circuit in United States v. Blewett, 719 F.3d 482 (6th Cir. 2013). However, on July 11, 2013, the Sixth Circuit granted the government's petition for rehearing en banc in Blewett. Upon rehearing, the Sixth Circuit held that "(1) the Fair Sentencing Act's new mandatory minimums do not apply to defendants sentenced before it took effect; (2) § 3582(c)(2) does not provide a vehicle for circumventing that interpretation; and (3) the Constitution does not provide a basis for blocking it." United States v. Blewett, 746 F.3d 647, 650 (6th Cir. 2013) (en banc).
The defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute more than five grams of crack cocaine, contrary to 21 U.S.C. § 846. On August 18, 2008, the Court sentenced him to 120 months in prison. In his present motion, the petitioner asks the Court to reduce his sentence under the authority of the original panel decision in Blewett. However, that panel decision was vacated, and the Sixth Circuit, in its later en banc decision, reaffirmed the rule that "the Fair Sentencing Act's new mandatory minimums do not apply to defendants sentenced before it took effect." Blewett, 746 F.3d at 650. Jones was sentenced on August 18, 2008, before the Fair Sentencing Act took effect, and the reduced mandatory minimums imposed under the Act therefore do not apply to him.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the defendant's motion to reduce sentence [dkt. #453] is DENIED.
s/David M. Lawson
DAVID M. LAWSON
United States District Judge Dated: August 2, 2017
PROOF OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing order was served upon each attorney or party of record herein by electronic means or first class U.S. mail on August 2, 2017.
s/Susan Pinkowski
SUSAN PINKOWSKI