Filed: Jan. 12, 2012
Latest Update: Jan. 12, 2012
Summary: ORDER JOSEPH F. BATAILLON, District Judge. This matter is before the court on the defendant's motion to reduce her sentence under 18 U.S.C. 3582(a) , Filing No. 227 . Her motion is premised on a recent Supreme Court holding that district courts may not "impose or lengthen a prison sentence to enable an offender to complete a treatment program or otherwise to promote rehabilitation." Tapia v. United States , ___ U.S. ___, ___, 131 S.Ct. 2382 , 2393 (2011) . District courts may, however
Summary: ORDER JOSEPH F. BATAILLON, District Judge. This matter is before the court on the defendant's motion to reduce her sentence under 18 U.S.C. 3582(a) , Filing No. 227 . Her motion is premised on a recent Supreme Court holding that district courts may not "impose or lengthen a prison sentence to enable an offender to complete a treatment program or otherwise to promote rehabilitation." Tapia v. United States , ___ U.S. ___, ___, 131 S.Ct. 2382 , 2393 (2011) . District courts may, however,..
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ORDER
JOSEPH F. BATAILLON, District Judge.
This matter is before the court on the defendant's motion to reduce her sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(a), Filing No. 227. Her motion is premised on a recent Supreme Court holding that district courts may not "impose or lengthen a prison sentence to enable an offender to complete a treatment program or otherwise to promote rehabilitation." Tapia v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 131 S.Ct. 2382, 2393 (2011). District courts may, however, make recommendations to the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") regarding treatment programs and can discuss the benefits of such programs with defendants at sentencing. Id. at 2392.
Defendant and several others were charged with distribution and conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846. While on pretrial release after her arrest in 2003, Ms. Castellanos initially cooperated with law enforcement officers, but later fled the jurisdiction. Filing No. 222, Sentencing Memorandum at 1. She was arrested on a fugitive warrant and returned to the District of Nebraska for prosecution. Id. She then entered a plea of guilty to the charge. Id. The offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. She was sentenced to 180 months (15 years).1
The record shows that the court merely recommended to the Bureau of Prisons that the defendant participate in the 500-hour Comprehensive Drug Treatment Program. Filing No. 223, Judgment at 2. In the Sentencing Memorandum, the court explained that the rationale for the defendant's sentence was her level of involvement in the offense, the comparative sentences her co-conspirators had received, and the fact that she had absconded from the jurisdiction while she was on supervised release, causing significant problems for the government in proving its case against the co-conspirators. Filing No. 222, Sentencing Memorandum at 12-13. Accordingly, the defendant's sentence was not lengthened for rehabilitative purposes and Tapia has no application to this case. Accordingly, the court finds the defendant's motion should be denied.
IT IS ORDERED that the defendant's motion to reduce her sentence (Filing No. 227) is denied.
