Career Offender Can’t Get Sentence Modification

A defendant who succeeded in having his sentence modified down to a career-offender sentence following the first round of the federal crack amendments can’t get another modification based on a second round, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held Oct. 27. (United States v. Banks, 2014 BL 302888, 5th Cir., No. 13-30839)

The Fifth Circuit had previously joined those of its sister courts that have held that the statute that authorizes sentence reductions following amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), doesn’t authorize modifications of sentences imposed under the guidelines’ ...