Sentencing Guidelines First Step Act.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Vincent Corner

Case No.: 19-3517

Officials: WOOD, BARRETT, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines First Step Act

Vincent Corner violated the conditions of his supervised release, and he was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment followed by 42 months' supervised release. Corner later moved for a reduced sentence under section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018. The district court did not assess Corner's eligibility for relief under the Act, explaining that it would not lower his sentence regardless of his eligibility because he had violated the terms of his release. Corner appeals, arguing that it was procedural error for the district court to deny relief without first determining whether the Act applied to his sentence and what the new statutory penalties would be. We agree, so we vacate the judgment and remand for further proceedings.

While serving a term of supervised release for possessing with intent to distribute 11 grams of cocaine base (i.e., crack), 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), Corner violated the conditions by using and possessing illegal drugs, failing to comply with drug testing, and lying to his probation officer about his inability to maintain employment. Because Corner had tested positive for controlled substances more than three times in one year, the district court determined that revocation of his supervised release was mandatory. See 18 U.S.C. 3583(g)(4). The court noted that the statutory maximum for Corner's reimprisonment was three years, id. 3583(e)(3), and that another term of supervised release of 60 months, minus the revocation sentence, could be imposed, id. 3583(h). It sentenced Corner to 18 months' imprisonment (half of the statutory maximum) and 42 months of supervised release.

Shortly after Corner was sentenced, Congress passed the First Step Act of 2018, which empowers district courts to re- duce a defendant's sentence by applying the Fair Sentencing...