United States v. Gregory Carter , 506 F. App'x 180 ( 2012 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 12-2605
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
GREGORY CARTER,
Appellant
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On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Delaware
(D.C. Criminal Action No. 1-06-cr-00143-001)
District Judge: Honorable Gregory M. Sleet
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Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
December 14, 2012
Before: FUENTES, VANASKIE and VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: December 17, 2012)
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OPINION
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PER CURIAM
Gregory Carter, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals from the District
Court’s order denying his motion for a reduction in sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §
3582(c)(2). We will affirm.
I.
Carter pleaded guilty to three counts of drug trafficking, including knowingly
distributing crack cocaine. At Carter’s sentencing hearing, there were no objections to
him being sentenced as a career offender pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. (App. p. 63.)
His advisory Guidelines range was 262 to 327 months imprisonment. (Id. p. 64.)
However, the District Court sentenced Carter to 144 months imprisonment, finding that
he was entitled to a variance because “the Guideline range [was] out of proportion to
what is necessary to a sentence that is sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve
the various goals of sentencing.” (Id. p. 99, 101.)
On May 1, 2012, Carter filed a motion for a reduction in sentence pursuant to 18
U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), arguing that Amendment 750 to the United States Sentencing
Guidelines, known as the “crack retroactivity reduction,” should apply. The District
Court denied the motion on May 14, 2012. (Dkt. No. 34.) Carter timely appealed.
II.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review a district court’s
interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo. United States v. Mateo, 560 F.3d
152, 154 (3d Cir. 2009). We review a district court’s ultimate decision to deny a motion
pursuant to § 3582 for abuse of discretion. Id.
To be eligible for a reduction in sentence, a defendant must have “been 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). The sentence must
first be “based on” a Guidelines range, and, second, a Guidelines amendment must have
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the “effect of lowering” that Guidelines range. United States v. Thompson, 682 F.3d
285, 290 (3d Cir. 2012) (citing Freeman v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 2685, 2700 (2011)
(Sotomayor, J., concurring)). Further, when determining a career offender’s eligibility
for resentencing, his applicable Guidelines range is the one “dictated by the Career
Offender Guidelines, not his [post-departure] range.” United States v. Barney, 672 F.3d
228, 232 (3d Cir. 2012).
To conform to the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Amendment 750 lowered the base
offense levels for crack cocaine quantities listed in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1. However, as a
career offender, Carter’s offense level and Guidelines range were based on the
application of U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. The fact that the District Court granted Carter a
variance does not change the fact that he was sentenced as a career offender. See Barney,
672 F.3d at 232. Because Carter was not sentenced based on a range that was
subsequently lowered by the Commission, he was not eligible for a reduction under §
3582(c)(2). Id.; see also Mateo, 560 F.3d at 154-55. The District Court did not abuse its
discretion in denying Carter’s motion. 1
III.
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the District Court’s May 14, 2012 order
denying Carter’s motion for a reduction in sentence.
1
Carter relies on Freeman, 131 S. Ct. at 2693, in support of his appeal. That case is
inapplicable because, while Carter entered into a plea agreement, the parties did not agree
on a sentence pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(C).
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