United States v. Linda Chaney

I. BACKGROUND

A. Original Sentencing

After getting caught in a federal sting operation distributing large amounts of crack cocaine, Chaney agreed to cooperate with federal authorities and signed a plea agreement accord- ing to which she would provide truthful testimony concerning subordinates in her drug distribution ring.

In exchange for these agreements and concessions, the gov- ernment dismissed all but two charges, declined to allege any prior offenses at sentencing, and agreed to recommend a sen- tence reduction of “up to 50%” from the minimum applicable Guidelines sentence. The parties stipulated to a base offense level of 31, a criminal history category of IV, and a minimum Guidelines sentence of 151 months. The government accord- ingly submitted a letter pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 to the district court recommending a reduced sentence of 108 months, or a 28% downward departure. Both Chaney and the 1 According to the plea agreement, Chaney further waived her rights “to appeal any aspect of her sentence as long as her sentence is no longer than the top of the sentencing guidelines range” and “to bring a post-conviction attack on her . . . sentence.” She agreed…