Whether a judge may impose a new sentence 'as if' only the change to the crack thresholds applies, ignoring other legal changes that have altered the defendant's statutory or Sentencing Guidelines ranges

QUESTION PRESENTED The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 increased the threshold amounts of crack cocaine — from 5 and 50 grams to 28 and 280 grams — needed to trigger two mandatory minimum penalties. The First Step Act of 2018 authorizes federal judges to “impose a reduced sentence” on certain defendants previously sentenced for 5and 50-gram offenses “as if? the 28and 280-gram thresholds were in force at the time of the offense. Pub. L. No. 115-391 § 404(b). The question presented is whether a judge may impose a new sentence “as if? only that change to the crack thresholds applies: May the judge ignore other legal changes that have altered the defendant’s statutory or Sentencing Guidelines ranges? This question has splintered the circuits into three camps. As one prominent jurist puts it, “the sooner the Supreme Court resolves the fractured views concerning [the Act], the better off we all will be.” United States v. Lancaster, 997 F.3d 171, 177 (4th Cir. 2021) (Wilkinson, J., concurring). 1