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May 31, 2020

Despite a short work week, still another long list of new COVID-influenced federal sentence reductions using § 3582(c)(1)(A)

Another (too) busy work week for me meant that I needed this weekend to catch up on last week's  COVID-influenced grants of sentence reductions using § 3582(c)(1)(A).  As readers may recall, my last post with a list of recent grants (covering grants mostly from May 16 to 21) was quite lengthy.  Perhaps due in part of a shorter work-week, this listing is not quite as long, but it still represents lots of uplifting news for certain defendants and their loved ones during a time when I think we can all benefit from some positivity.  So:

United States v. Somerville, No. 2:12-CR-225-NR, 2020 WL 2781585 (WD Pa. May 29, 2020)

United States v. Chester, No. 6:17-CR-06151 EAW, 2020 WL 2771077 (WDNY May 29, 2020)

United States v. Acoff, No. 3:15cr157 (MPS), 2020 WL 2781798 (D Conn. May 29, 2020)

Harrell v. United States, No. 13-20198, 2020 WL 2768883 (ED Mich. May 28, 2020)

United States v. Gonzalez, No. 12-CR-326 (JMF), 2020 WL 2766048 (SDNY May 28, 2020)

United States v. Feucht, No. 11-CR-60025-MIDDLEBROOKS, 2020 WL 2781600 (SD Fla. May 28, 2020)

United States v. Silkeutsabay, No. 2:13-CR-0140-TOR-3, 2020 WL 2747401 (ED Wash. May 27, 2020)

United States v. Whyte, No.  4:12cr00021-002, 2020 WL 2754761 (WD Va. May 27, 2020) 

United States v. Body, No. 18 CR 503-1, 2020 WL 2745972 (ND Ill. May 27, 2020)

United States v. Jackson, No. 5:02-cr-30020, 2020 WL 2735724 (WD Va. May 26, 2020)

United States v. Morris, No. 12-154 (BAH), 2020 WL 2735651 (DDC May 24, 2020)

Nearly a dozen grants in a short week is still remarkable, and this group can be rounded up to an even dozen with McCoy v. United States, No. 2:03-cr-197, 2020 WL 2738225 (ED Va. May 26, 2020).  McCoy grants a sentence reduction, without any mention of COVID, to redress an old excessive sentence imposed on a young offender and inflated by stacking mandatory 924(c) counts.  Here is the closing section from McCoy court: "Petitioner was sentenced at just 20 years old to a mandatory 421 month term for crimes that he would face an advisory guidelines range of 205–214 months if sentenced today.... Petitioner's relative youth at the time of the sentence, the overall length of the sentence, the disparity between his sentence and those sentenced for similar crimes after the FIRST STEP Act, and his rehabilitative efforts form an extraordinary and compelling basis for relief.  Accordingly, .... Petitioner's total sentence is reduced to a cumulative term of 205 months."

As I have mentioned before, a lot of late week rulings do not appear on Westlaw right away, so there might still be some additional late May grants that could show up on the service later this week.  Moreover, as I have mentioned in a number of prior posts, I am quite certain that these Westlaw listings do not represent all sentence reductions being granted by federal courts these days.  The data in the Marshall Project article flagged here have led me to believe that Westlaw is picking up only about half or even less of all federal sentence reduction grants.

Prior recent related posts since lockdowns:

May 31, 2020 at 02:28 PM | Permalink

Comments

I don't know who you are but I'm just desperately trying to find an honest person to assist hello my brother.. They are first offender that have been in prison almost 20 years work case like the above, and they see p people going home during this covid. They were sentenced by Judge McBride out of Fort Worth Texas.. This Judge is high on the bench and all local lawyers are intemidated by him.. My brothers can't afford a lawyer and McBride is turning down everything they send him.. Denying them, with cases that are not even in their paperwork.. With all the releases going on, they are getting left in prison because they don't have lawyers, and no one wants to challenge this judge. My brother Adriun Clark has served his time by current standards, but he is stuck in there and helpless.. Is there any way?

Adriun Ckark-fbop Seagoville TX (stacked charged,)

Telasa Clark- fbop El Reno

Cedric Diggs- fbop Medical Springfield Missouri(End Stage Renal Disease, on dialysis).. Compassion Release eligible

All first offender given life. If someone could just please look at their cases, the injustice is in plain sight.

Posted by: Tysha Clark | Jul 25, 2020 1:50:03 PM

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