United States v. Toijuana Collins

MEMORANDUM

Toijuana Gene Collins appeals from the district court’s order denying his motion to reduce his sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582 (c)(2). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Collins contends that the district court erred in finding that it did not have authority under § 3582(c)(2) to modify his sentence. Because Collins was sentenced based on the mandatory minimum under 21 U.S.C. § 841 (b)(1)(A) for a defendant with his criminal history, and not based on the Sentencing Guidelines, he is ineligible for the modification that he seeks. His case is squarely controlled by United States v. Paulk, 569 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2009) (per curiam), in which we held that a defendant with a sentence “based on the statutory mandatory minimum under 21 U.S.C. § 841” is “not entitled to a reduction [under § 3582(c)(2) ] because his sentence was not ‘based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission.’ ” See Paulk, 569 F.3d at 1095 (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 3582 (c)(2)); see also U.S.S.G § 1B1.10 cmt. n. 1(A) (2008) (“[A] reduction in the defendant’s term of imprisonment is not authorized under 18 U.S.C. § 3582 (c)(2) ... if…