Concepcion v. United States

In 2007, the United States government charged Carlos Concepcion (defendant) with distribution of crack cocaine, and he pleaded guilty to the charge. Concepcion was sentenced to prison in 2009. In 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act was passed, prospectively lowering the sentencing ranges for crack-cocaine offenses. Afterward, the Sentencing Commission retroactively amended the Sentencing Guidelines to lower the range for crack-cocaine offenses. Concepcion was not qualified for relief under the amended guidelines because he was sentenced as a career criminal. But Concepcion was qualified for relief under the First Step Act of 2018, which permitted district courts to impose a reduced sentence “as if” the Fair Sentencing Act’s lower sentencing ranges were in effect at the time of the offense. The First Step Act contained only two limitations on the courts’ discretion: a court could not consider a motion under the First Step Act if the moving party’s sentence had been reduced under the Fair Sentencing Act, or if the court had rejected a motion under the First Step Act. In 2019, Concepcion filed a motion pursuant to the First Step Act. Concepcion introduced evidence that he was no longer considered a career criminal by the amended guidelines after one of his convictions had been vacated, as well as evidence of his improved behavior in prison. The district court denied Concepcion’s motion, refusing to consider his evidence. The court of appeals affirmed. Concepcion appealed to the United States Supreme Court.