NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted September 10, 2018*
Decided September 10, 2018
Before
DIANE P. WOOD, Chief Judge
ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge
DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge
No. 18‐1426
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appeal from the United States District
Plaintiff‐Appellee, Court for the Northern District of Illinois,
Western Division.
v.
No. 12‐CR‐50049
ERIC L. KELLY,
Defendant‐Appellant. Frederick J. Kapala,
Judge.
O R D E R
Appellant Eric Kelly was sentenced to a total of 123 months in prison for
convictions for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a
firearm in furtherance of a drug‐trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a
person with a prior felony conviction. After the United States Sentencing Commission
adopted Amendment 782 to the Sentencing Guidelines and made that amendment
* After examining the briefs and the record, we have concluded that oral
argument is unnecessary. Thus the appeal is submitted on the briefs and the record.
See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2)(C).
No. 18‐1426 Page 2
retroactive, Kelly sought a reduction of his sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). The
sentencing court found that Kelly was legally eligible for a reduction, but the court
exercised its discretion to deny any reduction, focusing on Kelly’s history of violence
before his convictions and his possession of a dangerous weapon in prison. We affirmed
in Appeal No. 16‐1038, 667 Fed. App’x 546 (7th Cir. 2016).
In February 2018, Kelly returned to the district court and filed a second motion
under § 3582(c)(2), again seeking a reduction under Amendment 782. He asserted that
he had made substantial progress toward rehabilitation. The district court summarily
denied his second motion, citing United States v. Beard, 745 F.3d 288 (7th Cir. 2014),
where we held that a prisoner has only one opportunity per retroactive amendment to
the Sentencing Guidelines to seek a reduced sentence. Kelly has appealed again, but the
district court was exactly right. Amendment 782 gave Kelly one chance to seek a
discretionary reduction in his sentence. He used that chance several years ago and was
not successful. Under Beard, he is not entitled to try again. The district court’s denial of
Kelly’s second motion is AFFIRMED.