Sentencing Guidelines

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Matthew Elder

Case No.: 17-2207

Officials: FLAUM and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges, and GETTLEMAN, District Judge.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines

In 2015, Matthew Elder was convicted of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846. At his first sentencing, the district court concluded that Mr. Elder was subject to a mandatory term of life imprisonment under § 841(b)(1)(A) because he had two prior “felony drug offense” convictions. We remanded for resentencing because we concluded that one of his prior convictions did not qualify as a felony drug offense as that term is defined by 21 U.S.C. § 802(44). We also directed the district court to decide whether his second prior conviction, from Arizona in 1999, qualified. United States v. Elder (Elder I), 840 F.3d 455, 462 n.2 (7th Cir. 2016).

At Mr. Elder’s second sentencing, the district court concluded that the second of Mr. Elder’s prior convictions qualified as a felony drug offense under § 841(b)(1)(A) and, accordingly, that Mr. Elder was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment. The district court calculated Mr. Elder’s guidelines range to be 324 to 405 months’ imprisonment and sentenced Mr. Elder below the guidelines range to 260 months’ imprisonment. Mr. Elder now appeals his new sentence.

For the reasons stated in this opinion, we agree with Mr. Elder that the 1999 Arizona conviction is not a “felony drug offense” as defined by § 802(44). We therefore issue a limited remand under United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471, 483–84 (7th Cir. 2005), to permit the district court to determine whether this error was harmless.

Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.