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Jackson: 3582(c)(2) does not encompass safety-valve

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Jackson, No. 08-13645 (Aug. 9, 2010), the Court held that a defendant cannot obtain a safety-valve sentence reduction at a resentencing under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).The Court noted that the safety-valve statute references findings ?at sentencing.? A § 3582(c)(2) proceeding is not a ?sentencing,? but a limited resentencing. The Court noted the policy statements of the Sentencing Guidelines which provided that § 3582(c)(2) resentencings leave other guideline application decisions ?unaffected.?The Court recognized that its holding created a conflict with the contrary decisions of the Eighth and Sixth Circuits, which have held that the safety-valve does apply in § 3582(c)(2) proceedings.

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on August 09, 2010 (boomark / email).