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Sentencing Guidelines-“Safety-Valve” Relief

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//December 26, 2023//

Sentencing Guidelines-“Safety-Valve” Relief

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//December 26, 2023//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Senque Bingham

Case No.: 23-2172

Officials: Flaum, Scudder, and Kirsch, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines-“Safety-Valve” Relief

Bingham entered a guilty plea for drug offenses. Bingham sought “safety-valve” relief under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) during sentencing, aiming for a sentence below the statutory minimum based on certain criteria, including the absence of firearm possession in connection with his offense. However, the district court deemed Bingham ineligible for safety-valve relief, citing his fulfillment of the criteria for a firearms enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1), applicable when a dangerous weapon is connected to the offense.

The Seventh Circuit found that the district court had mistakenly conflated the specific condition of the safety-valve regarding firearms with the broader scope of the Sentencing Guidelines firearms enhancement. The court clarified that the safety-valve’s no-firearms condition is more limited than the firearms enhancement, which might apply even if a co-conspirator’s possession of a firearm was reasonably foreseeable to the defendant but not induced by them. The court emphasized that eligibility for a firearms enhancement does not automatically disqualify a defendant from safety-valve relief.

Given that the district court’s confusion between these provisions could have impacted its sentencing decision, the Seventh Circuit could not ascertain whether the error was inconsequential. Consequently, the court vacated Bingham’s sentence and remanded the case to the district court for resentencing.

Vacated and remanded.

Decided 12/19/23

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