Oran Edward HAMILTON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent-Appellee

We must determine whether a court, in resentencing a defendant pursuant to a retroactive amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines, must apply the Guidelines in effect at the time of the resentencing or those in effect at the time of the offense.

I

In October 1989, an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco discovered that Oran Hamilton had purchased a Moss-berg 12-gauge shotgun earlier that month from Western Surplus in Los Angeles, California. At the time of purchase, Hamilton had three prior felony convictions for drug-related offenses.

Hamilton ultimately pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1). Hamilton’s base offense level, pursuant to section 2K2.1 of the 1988 Sentencing Guidelines, was 9. The Presentenee Report (“PSR”) recommended a two-level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility and assigned a criminal history category of V. This resulted in a sentencing range of 12 to 18 months.

The PSR also recommended an enhancement of Hamilton’s sentence pursuant to section 4B1.1 of the Guidelines. Section 4B1.1 provides:

Reasoning that Hamilton’s current conviction for being a felon in possession of…