Michael Jerome Files v. United States

Section 404(b) of the First Step Act of 2018 gives district courts the authority to “impose a reduced sentence” for defendants convicted of “covered” crack-cocaine offenses. In Concepcion v. United States, this Court held that “[t]he only two limitations on district courts’ discretion” to impose a reduced sentence “appear in § 404(c)” of that Act. 142 S. Ct. 2389, 2401 (2022). Congress did not “hide” any such limit “outside of § 404(c).” Id. at 2402. When Petitioner sought relief under the First Step Act, he was serving concurrent, identical sentences for “covered” crack-cocaine offenses and related powdercocaine offenses. Nothing in § 404(c) of the First Step Act makes Petitioner ineligible for a reduced sentence, and the District Court imposed a sentence of “time served” for the crack-cocaine offenses. Yet the Eleventh Circuit held that § 404(b) bars the District Court from imposing a reduced sentence for Petitioner’s related powder-cocaine offenses. That squarely conflicts with the Seventh Circuit’s holding that when a defendant has a covered offense, a court may grant relief on “non-covered offenses that are grouped with the covered offenses to produce the aggregate sentence.” United States v. Hudson, 967 F.3d 605, 610 (7th Cir. 2020). The question presented is: Does § 404 of the First Step Act authorize district courts to impose a reduced sentence for both crack-cocaine offenses and related offenses that are part of the same overall sentence package?