JOHN D. BATES, District Judge.
Defendant Stacy Moore seeks to reduce his 120-month sentence for conviction of a crack cocaine offense based on a retroactive amendment to the sentencing guidelines. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Because his sentence is the mandatory minimum under the governing statute, the Court will deny Moore's motion.
In 2008, Moore was arrested and indicted for unlawful possession of crack cocaine, possession of a firearm by a felon, and a number of other offenses. He entered a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreement — an agreement that specifies an agreed-upon sentence or sentencing range.
In light of the FSA, the United States Sentencing Commission promulgated amendments that lowered the guidelines ranges for crack offenses. See United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual (U.S.S.G.), amends. 748 & 750 (2011 app. C, vol. 3). The Sentencing Commission made the reduced guidelines retroactive. See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(c) (2012). The government agrees with Moore that because the sentencing guidelines range was lowered retroactively, the applicable guidelines range is now 70 to 87 months, substantially below his actual sentence.
But a district court "may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed," except in limited circumstances. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c); see also Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 130 S.Ct. 2683, 2690, 177 L.Ed.2d 271 (2010). As relevant here, a court may reduce the term of imprisonment "in the case of a defendant who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission." See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Moore argues that he is eligible for a sentencing reduction under this provision, but his argument runs into two insurmountable hurdles: first, his sentence was not "based on" the sentencing guidelines; second, even if the lower guidelines range applied, the Court would still be required to sentence Moore to 120 months because the FSA is not retroactive and 120 months is the minimum sentence under the governing statute.
Turning to the first issue, the D.C. Circuit recently explained that whether a defendant who enters a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea can be said to have been sentenced "based on" the guidelines, within the meaning of section 3582(c)(2), depends on the district court's reasons for accepting the sentence that it ultimately imposed. See United States v. Epps, 707 F.3d 337, 350-51 (D.C.Cir.2013). Here, in considering the parties' stipulated sentence under Rule 11(c)(1)(C), the Court considered the sentencing guidelines — which, at that time recommended a sentence of 108 to 135 months. But the sentence the parties agreed to and the one the Court ultimately imposed was the lowest sentence permitted by statute. In this circumstance, the guidelines were only relevant to the Court's analysis in determining whether the parties' stipulated sentence was too low. In other words, even if the guidelines had advised a sentence of 70 to 87 months at the time of sentencing, the Court would still have accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Moore to 120 months. The sentence, based on the statutory minimum
Even setting aside the fact that the sentence arose in the context of a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea, however, the Court cannot reduce Moore's sentence. Sentencing statutes "trump[] the Guidelines," so the Court must sentence an offender to at least the minimum prison term set out in the statute regardless of the applicable guidelines range. See Dorsey, 132 S.Ct. at 2327. If the 120-month mandatory minimum applies to Moore, the fact that the revised guidelines range now recommends a lower sentence can have no impact. Accordingly, the key question — as the parties recognize — is whether the FSA, which repealed the 120-month mandatory minimum, applies to Moore, who was sentenced on June 19, 2009, before the FSA's enactment. Binding authority has answered this question "no." In Dorsey, the Supreme Court held that "the Fair Sentencing Act's new minimums apply to all of those sentenced after August 3, 2010," id. at 2336, while acknowledging that this rule creates a disparity "between pre-Act offenders sentenced before August 3 and those sentenced after that date." Id. at 2335. And the D.C. Circuit has squarely held that the FSA "is not retroactive" and a defendant who was "sentenced prior to the August 3, 2010 date of the Act's enactment" "cannot benefit from [it]." United States v. Bigesby, 685 F.3d 1060, 1066 (D.C.Cir.2012) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also United States v. Fields, 699 F.3d 518, 522 (D.C.Cir.2012) ("the FSA is inapplicable to offenders, like Fields, who were sentenced before passage of the statute").
Given this rule — that only defendants sentenced after August 3, 2010, can benefit from the FSA — Moore could benefit from the reduced minimums only if this section 3582 proceeding constitutes a new sentencing. The Supreme Court has considered and rejected this very characterization of section 3582(c)(2) proceedings, however, holding that the provision "authorize[s] only a limited adjustment to an otherwise final sentence and not a plenary resentencing proceeding." Dillon, 130 S.Ct. at 2691 (emphasis added); see also U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a)(3) ("proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and this policy statement do not constitute a full resentencing of the defendant"). In light of this, Moore's sentencing date is indisputably June 19, 2009; accordingly, the FSA does not apply to him.
Moore raises a number of other arguments, but none can overcome the governing rule. For instance, he argues that the reasoning of Dorsey supports applying the FSA retroactively to defendants in his position. True, the Supreme Court's Dorsey analysis supports broad application of the FSA. But Dorsey itself limited its reasoning to defendants sentenced after August 3, 2010, and the D.C. Circuit's holdings in Bigesby and Fields have recognized and reaffirmed this limitation.
Several courts in this district have considered similar arguments about the FSA's application in section 3582(c)(2) proceedings and have reached the same result. See, e.g., United States v. Baucum, 908 F.Supp.2d 156, No. 92-423, 2012 WL 6185715 (D.D.C. Dec. 12, 2012); United States v. Seldon, No. 06-318, 2012 WL 6004215 (D.D.C. Dec. 3, 2012); United States v. Sartor, No. 04-455, 2012 WL 3095351 (D.D.C. July 30, 2012). The Court joins them, holding that the pre-FSA mandatory minimums apply to Moore and preclude any sentence reduction in this section 3582(c)(2) proceeding.
Accordingly, it is hereby
Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(c)(1)(C).