Summary
This Fifth Circuit per curiam opinion addresses a case remanded by the Supreme Court concerning the applicability of § 403 of the First Step Act to defendants facing resentencing after their prior sentences were vacated. Following the Supreme Court's ruling in Hewitt v. United States, which held that the Act's lenient penalties apply to all first-time § 924(c) offenders sentenced after the Act's enactment, the Fifth Circuit vacates the appellants' sentences. The court remands the case to the district court for resentencing consistent with the Supreme Court's decision and the unaffected portions of its prior opinion.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether §403(b) of the First Step Act applies to defendants resentenced after vacatur of their pre‑Act sentences
- Whether the district court had jurisdiction to vacate §924(c) convictions based on the substantive crime of bank robbery
Holdings
- All first‑time §924(c) offenders resentenced after the First Step Act’s enactment date, including those whose prior sentences were vacated, are subject to the Act’s revised, more lenient penalties.
- The district court lacked jurisdiction to vacate those convictions.
- The Fifth Circuit vacates the appellants’ sentences and remands for resentencing consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion and the unaffected portions of the prior Fifth Circuit opinion.
Key quotations
“The Court has now held that “all first-time [18 U.S.C.] § 924(c) offenders who appear for sentencing after the First Step Act’s enactment date—including those whose previous § 924(c) sentences have been vacated and who thus need to be resentenced—are subject to the Act’s revised penalties.”” (at 2179)
Factual background
Defendants Corey Deyon Duffey, Jarvis Dupree Ross, and Tony R. Hewitt were resentenced after their pre‑Act sentences were vacated. The district court applied a physical‑restraint sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. §2B3.1(b)(4)(B) and attempted to vacate five §924(c) convictions. The issue turned on whether the First Step Act’s §403(b) applies to such post‑Act resentencings.
Procedural history
The Fifth Circuit previously held that §403(b) of the First Step Act did not apply to post‑enactment resentencings of defendants whose pre‑enactment sentences were vacated and affirmed the district court's sentencing enhancements. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, held that the Act’s revised penalties apply to all first‑time §924(c) offenders resentenced after the Act’s enactment, and reversed the Fifth Circuit’s judgment.
Remand instructions
Resentence the appellants consistent with the Supreme Court’s interpretation of §403(b) of the First Step Act and the portions of the Fifth Circuit’s prior opinion that were not affected by the reversal.