Alejandro Salinas Garcia v. United States
AdministrativeLaw
Does the record demonstrate that a defendant was sentenced in accordance with the FSA1 for violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841, involving multiple drug types with different statutory sentencing parameters some unimpacted by the FSA1, where the defendant was sentenced without reference to the properly applicable, least harsh statutory sentencing parameters?
QUESTION PRESENTED , Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA2”) } makes the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (“FSA1") | retroactive by authorizing courts to impose reduced | sentences for “covered offense[s].” Pub. L. No. 115-391, § | 404(b), 182 Stat. 5194, 5222. The term “covered offense” | means “a violation of a Federal criminal statute, the | statutory penalties for which were modified by section 2 | or 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.” Id. Section 2 of } the FSA1 amended 21 U.S.C. § 841 by altering the | crack-cocaine quantities associated with the three tiers of , penalties in § 841(b)(1). The FSA1 shifted Subparagraph | (b)(1)(A)’s 10-year-to-life range from more than 50 grams } to more than 280 grams; Subparagraph (b)(1)(B)’s ; | 5-to-40-year range from between 5 grams and 50 grams to between 28 grams and 280 grams; and Subparagraph (b)(1)(C)’s 0-to-20-year range from less than 5 grams to less than 28 grams (or an unspecified quantity). It is well settled that the statutory sentencing parameters triggered | by conviction for a violation of § 841 alleging multiple drug | types, and thereby triggering different statutory , sentencing parameters, is the least harsh set of potential statutory sentencing parameters triggered. , Does the record demonstrate that a defendant was sentenced in accordance with the FSA1 for violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841, involving multiple drug types with different | statutory sentencing parameters some unimpacted by | the FSA1 ~, where the defendant was sentenced without reference to the properly applicable, least harsh statutory sentencing parameters? |