United States v. Yale Augustine

In the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (“FSA”), Pub.L. No. 111-220, 124 Stat. 2372, Congress addressed the inequitable disparity between the sentences prescribed for crack and powder cocaine offenses. The question in this case is whether a defendant sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before the FSA was enacted is eligible for a reduced sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582 (c)(2). We hold, consistent with all circuits to have addressed the issue, that the FSA’s lowered mandatory mínimums are not available to such individuals.

I.

On October 10, 2007, after pleading guilty to distributing 83.2 grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1) and (b)(l)(A)(iii), Yale Augustine was sentenced to 121 months in custody. At the time, the offense carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months, 21 U.S.C. § 841 (b)(1)(A) (2006), and the district court applied a Sentencing Guidelines range of 121 to 151 months, see U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 (2006).

“Under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., and the related Sentencing Guidelines, § 2D1.1, a drug trafficker dealing in crack cocaine at the time of [Augustine’s] conviction was subject to the same sentence as one…