Guidelines Cannot Supersede Mandatory Minimums

US v. Moore: Moore pleaded guilty to a drug offense that left him facing a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence. At sentencing he argued for a sentence of 113 months – seven months below the mandatory minimum – to offset a seven-month sentence he had served in state court for conduct that was relevant conduct of the current offense, pursuant to USSG 5K2.23. The Government objected, arguing that the Guidelines cannot supersede the statutory penalty. The district court disagreed and imposed the 113-mont sentence.

The Fourth Circuit reversed. The Guideline provision, merely a “recommendation . . . is overridden by the congressionally mandated minimum sentence” and for “the district court to grant a departure solely on the basis of the Guidelines, contrary to a congressional mandate, was error.” The court distinguished USSG 5G1.3, which does allow for a sentence below a statutory mandatory minimum for undischarged sentences because it “is backed by an enabling statute.”