United States v. Melvin Raymond Lawrence

Appellee, at the age of 52, pled guilty to possession of over 100 marijuana plants with intent to distribute. The plants were found in his car. According to the presen-tence report, he also had over 4,000 marijuana plants at his home.

Appellee has two prior state convictions: In 1980, he pled guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, and to one count of possession of a controlled substance. He received five years probation. In 1982, he pled guilty to two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture or deliver, and received six months in county jail and five years probation.

The government sought to have appellee sentenced as a career offender under U.S. S.G. § 4B1.1 to a term of 12.6 to 15.6 years. The district judge departed downward from the guidelines, based in part on testimony from a psychiatrist that the likelihood of recidivism was low, and that the appellee was not violent or antisocial. Appellee received a sentence of 30 months imprisonment and three years supervised release. This would be the sentence for an offense level involving 100 marijuana plants and a criminal history level calculated without using the…