In a pre-Apprendi case, how does a district court decide a person's statute of conviction and thus determine § 404 eligibility under the First Step Act?

Section 404 of the First Step Act opened a pathway to sentencing relief for people convicted of crack cocaine offenses prior to August 3, 2010. The act’s text limits relief to those individuals convicted of a “covered offense.” And “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.” In the mine run of drug distribution cases, it isn’t hard to determine the statutory penalty : the indictment and verdict form will contain drug type and quantity . But what about a pre-Apprendi case, before drug type and quantity became elements of the substantive offense ? In those cases, the indictment and verdict form may, as here, say nothing helpful about drug type and quantity. This case addresses the interplay between Apprendi and Section 404 of the First Step Act, an issue that has split the circuits . Succinctly stat ed, the question presented is : in a pre -Apprendi case, how does a district court decide a person’s statute of conviction and thus determine § 404 eligibility? ii RELATED OPINIONS The following proceedings are related to this case within the meaning of Ru le 14.1(b)(iii) • United States v. Thornton , No. 23 -1635, 2025 WL 2181483 (6th Cir. Aug. 1, 2025) • United States v. Thornton , No. 21 -1418, 2023 WL 2293101 (6th Cir. Mar. 1, 2023) • United States v. Thornton & Brown , 234 F.3d 1271 (6th Cir. 2000) (table)