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Abuse of Discretion – Sentencing Guidelines

By: Derek Hawkins//March 16, 2020//

Abuse of Discretion – Sentencing Guidelines

By: Derek Hawkins//March 16, 2020//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Tremayne T. Dozier

Case No.: 18-3447

Officials: SYKES, HAMILTON, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Abuse of Discretion – Sentencing Guidelines

Tremayne Dozier was arrested in 2017 for trafficking methamphetamine in Decatur, Illinois. A federal grand jury indicted him for conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Under the terms of the Controlled Substances Act then in effect, Dozier faced increased penalties if he had a prior conviction for a “felony drug offense.” 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B)(viii). A “felony drug offense” is a drug‐related offense “that is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year under any law of the United States or of a State.” Id. § 802(44). The government identified one such conviction: in 2006 Dozier was convicted in Texas of unlawful possession of cocaine, a “state jail felony” punishable by imprisonment of six months to two years.

Dozier pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count. At sentencing he objected to using the 2006 drug conviction to enhance his sentence. The Texas case had been resolved by plea bargain; in exchange for Dozier’s guilty plea, the prosecutor agreed to a nine‐month sentence based on section 12.44(a) of the Texas Penal Code, which gives the sentencing judge the discretion to punish a person convicted of a state jail felony by imposing a period of confinement permissible for a Class A misdemeanor—that is, a term not to exceed one year. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. §§ 12.21, 12.44(a). The Texas court accepted the plea agreement, found Dozier guilty of the state jail felony, and imposed a nine‐month sentence.

Dozier argued that the Texas conviction was not a qualifying predicate because the terms of his plea agreement exposed him to confinement of not more than one year. The district judge rejected this argument and imposed a sentence of 20 years, the mandatory minimum for an offender with a prior felony drug conviction.

On appeal Dozier again argues that his 2006 Texas conviction doesn’t qualify as a felony drug offense. We disagree. Dozier pleaded guilty to and was convicted of a two‐year state jail felony. It does not matter that the sentencing judge accepted the plea bargain and exercised the discretion conferred by state law to sentence Dozier as if he were a misdemeanant. Dozier was, in fact, convicted of a two‐year drug felony. We affirm the judgment.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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