Sentencing – Mandatory Minimums

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Case Name: Dean v. United States

Case No.: 15-9260

Focus: Sentencing – Mandatory Minimums

Section 924(c) does not prevent a sentencing court from considering a mandatory minimum imposed under that provision when calculating an appropriate sentence for the predicate offense.

“Sentencing courts have long enjoyed discretion in the sort of information they may consider when setting an appropriate sentence, and they continue to do so even as federal laws have required them to evaluate certain factors when exercising their discretion. Pepper v. United States, 562 U. S. 476, 487–489. Section 3553(a) specifies the factors courts are to consider when imposing a sentence. They include “the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant,” as well as “the need for the sentence imposed” to serve the four overarching aims of sentencing: just punishment, deterrence, protection of the public, and rehabilitation. The §3553(a) factors are used to set both the length of separate prison terms, §3582(a), and an aggregate prison term comprising separate sentences for multiple counts of conviction, §3584(b). As a general matter, these sentencing provisions permit a court imposing a sentence on one count of conviction to consider sentences imposed on other counts. The Government argues that district courts should calculate the appropriate term of imprisonment for each individual offense, disregarding whatever sentences a defendant may face on other counts. Only when determining an aggregate prison sentence, the Government maintains, should a district court consider the effect of those other sentences. Nothing in the law requires such an approach. There is no reason that the §3553(a) factors may not also be considered when determining a prison sentence for each individual offense in a multicount case. The Government’s interpretation is at odds not only with the text of those provisions but also with the Government’s own practice in “sentencing package cases.” Greenlaw v. United States, 554 U. S. 237, 253.”

Reversed and Remanded

Concur:

Dissent:

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