US v. Campbell: Campbell was convicted by a jury of possession with intent to distribute drugs. At sentencing, the main issue was whether he was a career offender. Campbell argued that one of his two identified prior “controlled substance offenses” – a West Virginia conviction for delivery of crack – did not meet the definition. That was because the WV statute at issue made it a crime to “deliver” a controlled substance, which the statute then defined to include (among other things) “attempted transfer from one person to another.” The district court rejected Campbell’s argument, concluded he was a career offender, and sentenced him to 180 months in prison.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit vacated Campbell’s sentence. Joining several other circuits, the court concluded that the Guideline itself that defined “controlled substance offense” does not include attempts, which are only included as part of the definition in related commentary. However, commentary that is contrary to the Guideline itself cannot control. Here, the commentary expanded the definition of “controlled substance offense” to include attempts. As a result, attempts to commit controlled substance offenses do not count as career offender predicates.
Congrats to the Defender office in the Northern District of WV on the win!
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