United States of America v. Levence Simpson

United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted October 17, 2008∗
Decided October 24, 2008
Before
FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge
JOEL M. FLAUM, Circuit Judge
KENNETH F. RIPPLE, Circuit Judge
No. 08-2042
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
LEVENCE SIMPSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United
States District Court for the
Central District of Illinois
No. 1:01-cr-10038-JBM-JAG-4
Joe Billy McDade, Judge.
Order
After the Sentencing Commission reduced the guideline ranges for crack cocaine,
and made the change retroactive, see Amendments 706 and 711, LeVence Simpson
asked the district court to reduce his sentence. A judge is authorized to implement a
retroactive change in the guidelines. See 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(2).
The district court denied Simpson’s motion, observing that his sentence of 240
∗ This successive appeal has been submitted to the original panel under Operating Procedure 6(b). After
examining the briefs and the record, we have concluded that oral argument is unnecessary. See Fed. R.
App. P. 34(a); Cir. R. 34(f).
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with
Fed. R. App. P. 32.1

-- 1 of 2 --

No. 08-2042 Page 2
months is the statutory minimum for his offense and criminal record. A change in
guidelines does not entitle a court to disregard a statutory minimum sentence. Neal v.
United States, 516 U.S. 284 (1996). Simpson’s appellate brief ignores this problem and
relies entirely on decisions such as Kimbrough v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 558 (2007), that
concern the Guidelines rather than statutes. No more need be said to show that the
district court’s order is correct.
AFFIRMED

-- 2 of 2 --