Summary
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of Abdirahman Kheyre’s motion for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) based on retroactive Sentencing Guidelines Amendment 821. The court held that Congress did not violate the nondelegation doctrine or separation of powers by making the Sentencing Commission’s policy statement binding in such proceedings. It further held that departures are excluded when calculating the amended guideline range, making Kheyre’s below-range sentence ineligible for reduction.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Congress violated the nondelegation doctrine by making the Sentencing Commission's policy statements binding in proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).
- Whether making USSG § 1B1.10 binding on courts in § 3582(c)(2) proceedings violates separation-of-powers principles.
- Whether a downward departure awarded at the original sentencing must be included when calculating the amended guideline range under § 1B1.10.
- Whether Kheyre was eligible for a sentence reduction under § 3582(c)(2) when his 180-month sentence was below the amended guideline range.
- Whether the district court adequately considered Kheyre's mitigation evidence in its alternative determination that it would deny a reduction even if he were eligible.
Holdings
- Congress did not violate the nondelegation doctrine by making the Sentencing Commission's policy statements binding in § 3582(c)(2) proceedings.
- Making USSG § 1B1.10 binding on courts in § 3582(c)(2) proceedings does not violate separation-of-powers principles.
- Courts do not include departures awarded at the original sentencing when calculating the amended guideline range in a § 3582(c)(2) proceeding.
- Kheyre was ineligible for a sentence reduction because his 180-month sentence was below the minimum of the amended guideline range.
Key quotations
“Thus, we hold that Congress did not violate the nondelegation doctrine by making the Commission’s policy statements binding in § 3582(c)(2) proceedings.” (at 10)
“Applying Kisor, we hold that § 1B1.10 unambiguously does not include departures when calculating the amended guideline range.” (at 15)
“We hold that because Kheyre’s 180-month sentence was below his amended guideline range, he was ineligible for a reduction.” (at 15)
Factual background
In April 2023, Abdirahman Kheyre pleaded guilty to distributing a controlled substance and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute, admitting that the buyer died of an overdose after using the drugs. The district court calculated an original guideline range of 235 to 293 months and granted a two-level downward departure under USSG § 5K2.0, imposing a 180-month sentence after also varying downward. Amendment 821 eliminated Kheyre's two criminal-history status points and reduced his criminal-history category from IV to III, producing an amended guideline range of 210 to 262 months when the departure was excluded.
Procedural history
Kheyre pleaded guilty in the Southern District of California to distributing a controlled substance and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and was sentenced to 180 months after receiving a downward departure. After Amendment 821 retroactively reduced the effect of criminal-history status points, he sought de novo resentencing or, alternatively, a sentence reduction under § 3582(c)(2). The district court denied de novo resentencing and denied the sentence-reduction motion, concluding that the amended guideline range did not include the original departure and that Kheyre's sentence was below the amended range; it alternatively stated that it would deny relief even if Kheyre were eligible. The Ninth Circuit affirmed without reaching the alternative holding.