United States v. Jemaine Sidney , 485 F. App'x 847 ( 2012 )


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  •                  United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eighth Circuit
    ___________________________
    No. 11-1216
    ___________________________
    United States of America
    lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee
    v.
    Jemaine Laron Sidney, also known as Jizzle
    lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant
    ____________
    Appeal from United States District Court
    for the District of Nebraska - Lincoln
    ____________
    Submitted: August 2, 2012
    Filed: August 21, 2012
    [Unpublished]
    ____________
    Before RILEY, Chief Judge, GRUENDER, Circuit Judge, and LIMBAUGH,1
    District Judge.
    ____________
    PER CURIAM.
    On December 11, 2009, pursuant to a written plea agreement, Jemaine Sidney
    entered a plea of guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of
    1
    The Honorable Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., United States District Judge for the
    Eastern District of Missouri, sitting by designation.
    crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1). The offense conduct
    occurred on or about March 12, 2009. In the plea agreement, Sidney stipulated to a
    drug quantity of at least 150 grams but not more than 500 grams. The Presentence
    Investigation Report attributed 252.91 grams of crack cocaine to Sidney, and Sidney
    objected to this finding.
    On August 3, 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (“FSA”) was signed into
    law. Sidney moved to withdraw his guilty plea, contending that the enactment of the
    FSA constituted “a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal.” See Fed. R.
    Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B). The district court denied the motion. At Sidney’s sentencing
    hearing on January 12, 2011, Sidney argued that he was entitled to be sentenced under
    the modified provisions of the FSA, which, inter alia, increased the quantity of crack
    cocaine required to impose the mandatory minimum sentence of ten years from 50
    grams to 280 grams. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(ii)-(iii), (B)(ii)-(iii). The district
    court, in accord with our precedent at that time, instead sentenced Sidney under the
    law as it stood at the time of his offense and imposed a mandatory minimum ten-year
    sentence. Based on that ruling, and because Sidney stipulated to at least 150 grams
    and the Government argued for no more than 252.91 grams, the district court noted
    that a finding of a precise drug quantity was unnecessary to determine Sidney’s
    sentence.
    Sidney appealed the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and his
    sentence, and we affirmed. See United States v. Sidney, 
    648 F.3d 904
    (8th Cir. 2011),
    vacated, 11-8134, 
    80 U.S.L.W. 3715
    , 
    2012 WL 2470087
    (U.S. June 29, 2012). Our
    judgment was vacated and the case remanded to us for further consideration by the
    Supreme Court in light of Dorsey v. United States, 567 U.S. ---, 
    132 S. Ct. 2321
    , 2326
    (2012) (holding that “the more lenient penalty provisions [of the FSA] apply to
    offenders who committed a crack cocaine crime before August 3, 2010, but were not
    sentenced until after August 3.”). We now vacate our prior opinion, vacate Sidney’s
    -2-
    sentence, and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent
    with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dorsey.
    _____________________________
    -3-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 11-1216

Citation Numbers: 485 F. App'x 847

Judges: Gruender, Limbaugh, Per Curiam, Riley

Filed Date: 8/21/2012

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/5/2023