United States v. Green

Defendant, convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, appealed the district court's denial of his motion for a reduced sentence. At issue was whether, on a motion for a reduced sentence, a district court may clarify the quantity of drugs for which it held a defendant accountable at an earlier sentencing hearing. The court joined a number of its sister circuits in concluding that a resentencing court is permitted to make an independent drug quantity finding if it cannot determine the defendant's amended guideline range without doing so. In this case, the district court did not err when it denied defendant's motion because the amendment did not change his guideline range; the law-of-the case doctrine does not bar the clarification by the district court; and, therefore, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Green" on Justia Law