November 29, 2016 - United States District Court Reduces Sentence from 110 Months to 77 Months

November 29, 2016 United States District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan reduced Mr. Kent's client Juan Cadena's sentence 33 months, from 110 months to 77 months, after the Court had previously granted a federal habeas motion Mr. Kent filed on behalf of Mr. Cadena which had argued that Mr. Cadena was entitled to a resentencing.  At the original sentencing in 2012 the provision in Mr. Cadena's plea agreement whereby the Government had agreed to recommend a two level reduction for acceptance of responsibility (despite Mr. Cadena's arrest in Texas for possession of one kilogram of cocaine while released on bond on his Florida federal drug case) was forgotten and no one argued for acceptance of responsibility, instead Mr. Cadena's new cocaine case in Texas was the focus of the sentencing, and the Court had denied Mr. Cadena any reduction for acceptance or responsibility.  The habeas motion had argued that Mr. Cadena's defense counsel was ineffective for not arguing for acceptance of resonsibility at the original sentencing and that had he done so, the Court might have reduced the sentence for acceptance of responsibility.  The Government had correctly conceded the error and the court had set the matter for resentencing, expressing reservations, however, whether the court would grant acceptance of responsibility given the intervening serious drug arrest.  However, at the resentencing November 29, 2016 the Court agreed that although it was a close case, the Court would grant Mr. Cadena the two level guideline reduction.  Mr. Cadena then also benefitted from the intervening reduction in the offense level for his drug offense under Amendment 782.  (Because the resentencing resulting from the federal habeas motion came after the adoption of the guideline change, what had been a discretionary reduction under 18 USC 3582 became a mandatory reduction under USSG 2D1.1 for purposes of the resentencing.) The Government argued for a high end sentence at the new guideline range, but the Court imposed a low end guideline sentence and also included the RDAP (prison drug program) recommendation in the judgment, the net effect of all this will be that Mr. Cadena should serve about 24 more months in custody (subject to earlier release to community confinement or home detention for up to the final six months of confinement).  Although this was "only" a 33 month reduction in the sentence, it is Mr. Kent's philosophy that any reduction in time in prison is invaluable.  Life is precious and each day a father is away from his children, a son away from a mother, a husband away from a wife, is a day that can never be returned.