United States of America v. Antonio Goins; William Freeman

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 11a0487n.06
Nos. 08-6374, 09-5047
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
ANTONIO GOINS; WILLIAM FREEMAN,
Defendants-Appellants.
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ON APPEAL FROM THE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT FOR THE WESTERN
DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
BEFORE: BOGGS, ROGERS, and WHITE, Circuit Judges.
ROGERS, Circuit Judge. These consolidated cases addressed whether defendants who were
sentenced pursuant to Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreements could qualify for sentence reductions based
on retroactive amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines. Both Goins and Freeman were charged
with drug and weapon offenses in 2005 and each entered a plea agreement pursuant to Rule
11(c)(1)(C). The district court accepted the pleas and entered judgment. Subsequently, the
Sentencing Commission amended the Guidelines to reduce the disparity in the treatment of crack
and powder cocaine and made the amendment retroactive. See U.S.S.G. Appx. C, Amend. 706, id.
§ 1B1.10. Goins and Freeman sought to have their sentences reduced, but the district court held that
this circuit’s precedent in United States v. Peveler, 359 F.3d 369 (6th Cir. 2004), precluded
modification of a sentence imposed pursuant to a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreement. This court
affirmed. United States v. Goins, 355 F. App’x 1 (6th Cir. 2009). The Supreme Court subsequently

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Nos. 08-6374, 09-5047
United States v. Goins
granted certiorari and issued an opinion in Freeman’s case, reversing this court’s decision and
remanding the case. Freeman v. United States, No. 09-10245, 564 U.S. — (June 23, 2011). In light
of that decision, the Court issued a summary order granting certiorari and remanding Goins’s case.
Goins v. United States, No.09-10246, 564 U.S. — (June 28, 2011). We now remand both cases to
the district court for proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion.
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