Order: Reduction of Sentence Pursuant to Amendment 821 — United States v. Brandon Jackson (Dkt. 290, S.D.N.Y.)

Summary

Order, Document 290, filed 02/26/24, in 21-CR-247-05 (PAE), United States of America v. Brandon Jackson, by District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer. It states that on February 2, 2023, Jackson was sentenced principally to a term of imprisonment of 33 months, and that defense counsel moved on February 14, 2024, for a reduction to 27 months under Amendment 821 of the Sentencing Guidelines. In its analysis, the Court finds Jackson eligible for a reduction to no lower than 27 months' imprisonment but declines to reduce the sentence, for two broad reasons: the Guideline range did not play a meaningful role in the sentence, and the rationale behind Amendment 821 does not persuasively apply because Jackson had several brushes with the criminal justice system before the instant offense.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

Text recognized from a scanned document; may contain errors.

Case 1:21-cr-00247-PAE Document 290 Filed 02/26/24 Page 1of3

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
21-CR-247-05 (PAE)
~ ORDER
BRANDON JACKSON,
Defendant.

PAUL A. ENGELMAYER, District Judge:

On February 2, 2023, defendant Brandon Jackson was sentenced principally to a term of
imprisonment of 33 months. Dkt. 235.

On February 14, 2024, defense counsel moved for a reduction of Jackson’s sentence to 27
months imprisonment, pursuant to Amendment 821 of the Sentencing Guidelines, Dkt. 288,
having been reappointed by the Court for this purpose, Dkt. 284. On February 21, 2024, the
Government filed a letter, agreeing that Jackson is eligible for, but opposing, a sentence
reduction. Dkt. 289. The Probation Department has determined that Jackson is eligible for a
sentence reduction. Dkt. 282.

All parties thus agree that Jackson is eligible for a sentence reduction under Amendment
821; that, under that Amendment, his offense level, which at sentencing was level 20, is now
level 18; that his Criminal History Category remains level I; and that his Guidelines range on
Count Five would today be 27-33 months’ imprisonment, rather than 33-41 months, the range
calculated at the time of sentencing. The Court adopts the above calculations and finds Jackson

eligible for a reduction of sentence to no lower than 27 months’ imprisonment.
Case 1:21-cr-00247-PAE Document 290 Filed 02/26/24 Page 2 of 3

The Court has reviewed the record in this case, including its detailed assessment at the
time of sentencing of the just and reasonable sentence, and counsel’s recent submissions, and the
letter attachments to the defense submission. After considered attention, the Court declines to
reduce Jackson’s sentence based on Amendment 821. That is so for two broad reasons.

First, the Guideline range did not play a meaningful role in the Court’s assessment of the
just and reasonable sentence. More important were the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and assuring
that Jackson’s sentence was properly situated relative to those of his co-defendants, in light of
how the § 3553(a) factors applied to each. The Court found a 33-month sentence for Jackson to
properly balance the § 3553(a) factors, and to be necessary to reflect the gravity of his offense, a
conspiracy to defraud a federal relief program during the COVID-19 pandemic of millions of
dollars. The Court further found such a sentence necessary to situate Jackson’s sentence relative
to his co-defendants. See Dkt. 248 (“Sent. Tr.”) at 47-64. The Court’s assessment of the just
and reasonable sentence today remains the same as at sentencing.

Second, the rationale behind Amendment 821 does not persuasively apply to Jackson.
Under the pertinent portion of that Amendment, Jackson’s offense level drops by 2 levels
because he had zero criminal history points; the Amendment’s premise is that, relative to
offenders within Criminal History Category I who had one criminal history point, offenders with
zero Criminal history points pose a lesser risk of recidivism. However, unlike many if not most
defendants who have zero criminal history points, Jackson had had several brushes with the
criminal justice system before the instant offense. As the sentencing transcript reflects, these
influenced the Court’s assessment at sentencing that there was a meaningful interest in
specifically deterring Jackson. See id. at 53-54. Also influencing that conclusion were

Jackson’s non-compliance with various requirements of pretrial supervision. See id. at 54—55,
Case 1:21-cr-00247-PAE Document 290 Filed 02/26/24 Page 3 of 3

These aspects of Jackson’s history do not make him a logical beneficiary of the zero-criminal-
history points component of Amendment 821. Cf, e.g., United States v. Jordan, No. 20 CR.
30044 (SMY), 2024 WL 198989, at *1 (S.D. Ill. Jan. 18, 2024) (denying sentence reduction
under Amendment 821 for eligible defendant because defendant “ha[d] multiple disciplinary
infractions while in BOP custody” and this “disciplinary record demonstrates that the original
sentence imposed is warranted to deter future criminal conduct and promote a respect for the
law”); United States v. Ramsey, No. 19 CR. 00282, 2024 WL 436353, at *2 (S.D.W. Va. Feb. 5,
2024) (denying sentence reduction under Amendment 821 because of defendant’s disciplinary
infractions while in custody which “reflect a lack of deterrence and lack of respect for the law);
United States v. Brown, No. 18 CR. 30028 (SMY), 2024 WL 198986, at *1 (S.D. Ill. Jan. 18,
2024) (denying sentence reduction under Amendment 821 in part because of defendant’s
disciplinary infractions while in BOP custody).

The Court accordingly declines to modify Jackson’s sentence. The 33-month sentence,

the Court notes, remains a Guidelines sentence.

SO ORDERED.

PAUL A. ENGELMAYER V
United States District Judge

Dated: February 26, 2024
New York, New York


File and source

File

290.pdf

Size

451,459 bytes

SHA-256

24495bb8bbd813c35e9a1e19b558062db32d3e1694f0bb5a95ae6bde39d8baeb

Our copy

290.pdf

Original

No public link identified.