United States of America v. Eldridge A. Sumlin

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 11-1356
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Eldridge A. Sumlin
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri - Cape Girardeau
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Submitted: November 7, 2012
Filed: December 4, 2012
[Unpublished]
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Before WOLLMAN, COLLOTON, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
This case is on remand from the Supreme Court. In our opinion filed January
25, 2012, United States v. Sumlin, 453 F. App’x 668 (8th Cir. 2012), we affirmed
Eldridge Sumlin’s sentence for possession with intent to distribute five grams or more
of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and punishable under 21 U.S.C.
§ 841(b)(1)(B). Sumlin then petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.

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The Supreme Court granted the petition, vacated our judgment, and remanded the
case for further consideration in light of Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321
(2012).
In Dorsey, the Supreme Court held that the “more lenient penalty provisions”
of the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) “apply to offenders who committed a crack cocaine
crime before August 3, 2010, but were not sentenced until after August 3.” Id. at
2326. Sumlin is entitled to relief under Dorsey because his offense occurred on July
22, 2010, and he was sentenced on February 8, 2011. Accordingly, we vacate
Sumlin’s sentence and remand the case to the district court for resentencing consistent
with Dorsey and the FSA.
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