United States v. Hassan Beasley

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
United States v. Hassan Beasley, 561 F. App'x 826 (11th Cir. 2014)

United States v. Hassan Beasley

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Hassan Beasley, a federal prisoner appearing pro se, appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(e)(2). Beasley pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and other drugs. He then faced a sentence guideline range of 151 to 188 months’ imprisonment based *827 on his status as a career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. The district court sentenced him to 130 months in prison. Beasley contends that he now is eligible for a sentence reduction pursuant to Amendments 750 and 759 of the Sentencing Guidelines — which amended how quantities of drugs are calculated under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 — notwithstanding the fact that his guideline range was determined based on the career offender provision in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. Because these amendments did not alter Beasley’s sentencing range, we affirm the district court’s denial of his motion for a sentence reduction.

We review the district court’s legal conclusions regarding the scope of its authority under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) de novo. United States v. James, 548 F.3d 983, 984 (11th Cir. 2008).

“As a general rule, district courts may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed, except in specific circumstances delineated in 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c).” United States v. Williams, 549 F.3d 1337, 1339 (11th Cir. 2008). Pursuant to § 3582(c)(2), the court is allowed to reduce a defendant’s prison term if the defendant was “sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2); see also U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a)(1). However, “[w]here a retroactively applicable guideline amendment reduces a defendant’s base offense level, but does not alter the sentencing range upon which his or her sentence was based, § 3582(c)(2) does not authorize a reduction in sentence.” United States v. Moore, 541 F.3d 1323, 1330 (11th Cir. 2008); see also U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a)(2)(B) (providing that a § 3582(c)(2) reduction is not authorized if the amendment “does not have the effect of lowering the defendant’s applicable guideline range”).

Amendment 750 to the Sentencing Guidelines lowered some of the drug-quantity calculations used under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1. But, Beasley’s sentencing range was calculated under the career-offender guideline in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. 1 Accordingly, Amendment 750 did not alter the sentencing range upon which his sentence was based, and § 3582(c)(2) does not authorize a reduction in sentence. See Moore, 541 F.3d at 1330.

For these reasons, the district court did not err in denying Beasley’s § 3582(c)(2) motion, and we affirm.

AFFIRMED.

1

. Beasley contends the district court actually used the sentencing range under U.S.S.G. § 2D 1.1 because the court chose a downward departure from the sentencing range under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. We find no merit in this contention. The court chose a downward departure from the U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1 sentencing range. If the U.S.S.G. § 2D 1.1 sentencing range applied, the court's sentence would instead be an upward departure.

Reference

Full Case Name
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Hassan BEASLEY, Defendant-Appellant
Status
Unpublished