Whether a district court can impose a reduced sentence for both covered and non-covered offenses under the First Step Act

QUESTION PRESENTED Congress passed § 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 to address sentences imposed prior to its enactment of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. To be eligible for a sentence reduction under § 404, a defendant must have been sentenced for a “covered offense.” First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, § 404(a). Section 404(b) allows “a court that imposed a sentence for a covered offense . . . [to] impose a reduced sentence as if sections 2 and 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 were in effect at the time the covered offense was committed.” Id. at § 404(b). The plain language of § 404 contains only two limitations on a district court’s discretion to impose a reduced sentence. Neither of those two limitations apply to Petitioner. Nor did Congress “hide” any other limits outside the text of § 404. Concepcion v. United States, 142 8S. Ct. 2389, 2402 (2022). Despite the text of § 404, despite the long-held principle that district courts are “entrusted with wide sentencing discretion,” id. at 2398, and despite the reasoning of sister circuits that have held otherwise, the Eleventh Circuit has held that § 404 “is a limited remedy” that permits the district court to “reduce a defendant’s sentence only on a covered offense and only as if sections 2 and 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act were in effect when he committed the covered offense.” United States v. Daniel, No. 23-11495, 2023 WL 7151348, at *2 (11th Cir. Oct. 31, 2023) (per curiam) (emphasis added). The question presented is: Where a defendant was sentenced for multiple offenses, some of which are now covered by § 404 of the First Step Act while others are not covered, does § 404 i authorize a district court to impose a reduced sentence for both the covered offenses and the non-covered offenses, or only for the covered offenses? INTERESTED PARTIES There are no