United States v. Dunphy

PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.  No. 08-6919
GENA MARIE DUNPHY,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Clarksburg.
John Preston Bailey, Chief District Judge.
(3:02-cr-00045-JPB-1)

Argued: October 29, 2008

Decided: January 5, 2009

Before WILKINSON and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges,
and Richard D. BENNETT, United States District Judge for
the District of Maryland, sitting by designation.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Duncan wrote the opin-
ion, in which Judge Wilkinson and Judge Bennett concurred.

COUNSEL

ARGUED: Brian Joseph Kornbrath, Federal Public Defender,
Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellant. William C. Brown,
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washing-
2 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
ton, D.C., for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Sharon L. Potter, United
States Attorney, Wheeling, West Virginia; Paul T. Camilletti,
Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY, Martinsburg, West Virginia, for
Appellee.

OPINION

DUNCAN, Circuit Judge:

In 2003, Gena Dunphy pleaded guilty to aiding and abet-
ting the possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute
in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). She was sentenced to
135 months imprisonment, the minimum sentence under the
Sentencing Guidelines in effect at that time. In 2008, Dunphy
moved the district court for a reduction of her sentence based
on an amendment to the guidelines that effectively lowered
the offense level with respect to offenses involving crack
cocaine.

The district court reduced Dunphy’s sentence to 108
months, the minimum available to her under the amended
guidelines, but declined to grant a further reduction below the
108-month minimum on the ground that it lacked authority to
do so. Dunphy timely appealed. Because the district court
properly interpreted the limits of its authority, we affirm.

I.

Dunphy pleaded guilty in May of 2003 to a single count of
aiding and abetting the possession of crack cocaine with
intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). At
her sentencing hearing, the district court found, as stipulated
by the parties, that she was responsible for over 150 grams of
crack. Under the guidelines applicable at the time, that drug
quantity produced a base offense level of 34. See U.S.S.G.
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 3
§ 2D1.1(c)(3) (2002). Adding two levels for possession of a
firearm, and subtracting three levels for acceptance of respon-
sibility, the district court calculated Dunphy’s total offense
level at 33. With her category I criminal history, Dunphy’s
sentencing range was 135-168 months. The district court sen-
tenced Dunphy at the bottom of that range to a term of 135
months of imprisonment. Dunphy did not appeal.

Several years later, the Sentencing Commission issued
Amendment 706, which altered the drug quantity table set
forth in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 to effectively lower the base
offense level for offenses involving crack cocaine by two levels.1
The Commission added Amendment 706 to the list in the
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(c) policy statement that designates those
guidelines amendments which may be applied retroactively.2

Based on these amendments, Dunphy moved in the district
court for a reduction of her sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
§ 3582(c)(2), which provides a limited exception to the rule
barring a court from modifying a sentence once it has been
imposed. Applying the amended drug quantity table to the
quantity of crack attributable to Dunphy in 2003, Dunphy’s
base offense level was reduced from 34 to 32. Applying the
two-level firearm enhancement and three-level subtraction for
acceptance of responsibility, Dunphy’s total offense level
became 31. This offense level yields an amended guideline
range of 108-135 months, reduced from the 135-168 months
applicable at her initial sentencing. The district court resen-
tenced Dunphy to 108 months, the bottom of the amended
guideline range.
1
Amendment 706 was further amended in the technical and conforming
amendments set forth in Amendment 711, which also became effective
November 1, 2007. Amendment 706 was incorporated through Amend-
ment 713. Amendment 712, discussed below, concerns separate changes
made to the U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10 policy statement.
2
A guideline amendment may be applied retroactively only when
expressly listed in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(c). United States v. McHan, 386
F.3d 620, 622 (4th Cir. 2004).
4 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
Dunphy nevertheless requested that the district court grant
a further reduction to a sentence below 108 months. She
acknowledged that with respect to defendants who were origi-
nally sentenced within the guideline range, as she had been,
the language of U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A) bars the district
court from reducing the defendant’s sentence to "a term that
is less than the minimum of the amended guideline range."
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A); see also App. Note 3. She
argued, however, that the § 1B1.10(b) mandatory restriction
on the extent of the reduction was invalid for two reasons: (1)
because, as a constitutional matter, United States v. Booker,
543 U.S. 220 (2005), held that the guidelines were advisory
rather than mandatory; and (2) because, as a matter of statu-
tory construction, § 1B1.10(b) was inconsistent with the
requirement that the sentencing court apply the § 3553(a) fac-
tors. See J.A. 73-76.

The district court disagreed. It denied Dunphy’s motion
insofar as she sought a reduction below the minimum
amended guideline range on the ground that it lacked such
authority under § 3582(c)(2). J.A. 84-87. The court observed
that § 3582(c) proscribes the modification of a term of impris-
onment once it has been imposed, except under narrow cir-
cumstances provided in the statute, and permits a reduction
only if "consistent with applicable policy statements issued by
the Sentencing Commission." J.A. 83-85 (quoting
§ 3582(c)(2)). The court further pointed to the directive in 28
U.S.C. § 994(u) that if the Commission reduces a sentencing
range, it must determine the circumstances and the extent of
the reduction. J.A. 84. Citing authority from other circuits as
well, the district court concluded that Booker did not autho-
rize courts to deviate below the level authorized by the Sen-
tencing Guidelines and policy statements in the guidelines.
J.A. 83-86.

This appeal followed.
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 5
II.

The district court’s determination that it lacked authority to
reduce Dunphy’s sentence to a term below the amended
guideline range is a question of law that we review de novo.
United State v. Legree, 205 F.3d 724, 727 (4th Cir. 2000).

We begin our analysis with a consideration of the statutes
and guidelines involved. The congressional directive in 28
U.S.C. § 994(u) provides that "[i]f the Commission reduces
the term of imprisonment recommended in the guidelines
applicable to a particular offense or category of offenses, it
shall specify in what circumstances and by what amount the
sentences of prisoners serving terms of imprisonment may be
reduced." § 994(u). As the Supreme Court has explained with
respect to this provision, "Congress has granted the Commis-
sion the unusual explicit power to decide whether and to what
extent its amendments reducing sentences will be given retro-
active effect." Braxton v. United States, 500 U.S. 344, 348
(1991) (citing § 994(u)) (emphasis omitted).

In 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c), Congress mandated that courts
"may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been
imposed." § 3582(c). However, § 3582(c) allows for specified
exceptions to this general rule. The exception relevant here
authorizes a district court to reduce a defendant’s term of
imprisonment when the Commission has subsequently low-
ered his or her sentencing range and made that reduction
retroactive. However, such sentence-reduction is authorized
only "if such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy
statements issued by the Sentencing Commission."
§ 3582(c)(2).

Under the express statutory language of § 994(u) and
§ 3582(c)(2), the Commission’s policy statements implement-
ing the statute’s authorization of retroactive sentence reduc-
tions are binding, just as the statutory restrictions on
reductions below a mandatory minimum are binding. See
6 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
United States v. Walsh, 26 F.3d 75, 77 (8th Cir. 1994) (hold-
ing that "Congress has made the policy statements set forth in
§ 1B1.10 the applicable law for determining whether a district
court has the authority to reduce a sentence in this situation.").
The guideline’s policy statement in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10, identi-
fying the amendments which may be applied retroactively,
further emphasizes the limited nature of the relief available
under § 3582(c)(2). Subsection 1B1.10(a) provides, in rele-
vant part:

(1) In General. — In a case in which a defendant is
serving a term of imprisonment, and the guideline
range applicable to that defendant has subsequently
been lowered as a result of an amendment . . . , the
court may reduce the defendant’s term of imprison-
ment as provided by 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). . . .

(3) Limitation. — [P]roceedings under 18 U.S.C.
§ 3582(c)(2) and this policy statement do not consti-
tute a full resentencing of the defendant.

U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a) (as amended by Amendment 712 effec-
tive March 3, 2008) (emphasis added).

Subsection 1B1.10(b)(l), in turn, specifies the mechanism
for calculating the amended guideline range:

[T]he court shall determine the amended guideline
range that would have been applicable to the defen-
dant if the amendment(s) to the guidelines listed in
subsection (c) had been in effect at the time the
defendant was sentenced. In making such determina-
tion, the court shall substitute only the amendments
listed in subsection (c) for the corresponding guide-
line provisions that were applied when the defendant
was sentenced and shall leave all other guideline
application decisions unaffected.
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 7
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(1) (as amended by Amendment 712
effective March 3, 2008) (emphases added).

Subsection 1B1.10(b)(2)(A), which applies when a defen-
dant (like Dunphy) received a within-guidelines sentence at
her original sentencing, limits the extent of the reduction to
the minimum of the amended guideline range. It states in per-
tinent part that "the court shall not reduce the defendant’s
term of imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and this
policy statement to a term that is less than the minimum of the
amended guideline range." U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A). The
guidelines commentary reiterates this explicit limitation on
the extent of the reduction, stating:

Under subsection (b)(2), the amended guideline
range . . . limit[s] the extent to which the court may
reduce the defendant’s term of imprisonment under
18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) and this policy statement. Spe-
cifically, if the original term of imprisonment
imposed was within the guideline range applicable to
the defendant at the time of sentencing, the court
shall not reduce the defendant’s term of imprison-
ment to a term that is less than the minimum term
provided by the amended guideline range deter-
mined under subsection (b)(1).

U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10, App. Note 3 (as amended by Amendment
712 effective March 3, 2008) (emphasis added).

Moreover, proceedings under § 3582(c)(2) "do not consti-
tute a full resentencing of the defendant." U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.10(a)(3); see Legree, 205 F.3d at 730 (holding that a
motion pursuant to § 3582(c) "is not a do-over of an original
sentencing proceeding" (citation omitted)); see also United
States v. McBride, 283 F.3d 612, 615 (3d Cir. 2002) (holding
that § 3582(c)(2) authorizes "a reduction of sentence" and not
a "full resentencing"); United States v. Bravo, 203 F.3d 778,
781 (11th Cir. 2000) (holding that § 3582(c)(2) "do[es] not
8 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
contemplate a full de novo resentencing" (quotation and cita-
tion omitted)). Rather, § 3582(c)(2) and U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10
are narrow provisions that allow a limited reduction of sen-
tence by the amount specified in an amendment, while prohib-
iting a complete reevaluation. See, e.g., United States v.
Hasan, 245 F.3d 682, 685-86 (8th Cir. 2001) (en banc) (find-
ing that a reduction below the amended guideline range is not
permitted); Bravo, 203 F.3d at 781 (affirming that the district
court "lacked jurisdiction to depart downward . . . to an extent
greater than that authorized under Section 3582(c) based on
the amended guideline provision"). In providing that sentenc-
ing reductions must be consistent with applicable policy state-
ments, § 3582(c)(2) thus creates a jurisdictional bar to
reducing sentences below the range authorized by the Com-
mission. See, e.g., United States v. Julien, 550 F. Supp. 2d
138, 139-40 (D. Me. 2008).

III.

A.

Dunphy advances two arguments on appeal, which we con-
sider in turn. First, she argues that limiting the extent of a
§ 3582(c)(2) sentencing reduction is the functional equivalent
of a mandatory application of the guidelines which Booker
and Kimbrough v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 558 (2007), pro-
hibit. However, this argument is unavailing.

In Booker, the Supreme Court concluded that the Sixth
Amendment requires that the jury, not the judge, find the facts
that establish the mandatory guideline range. The Court reme-
died that Sixth Amendment constitutional defect reflected in
the guidelines by severing the provisions that made them
mandatory. Because the guidelines are now advisory, the
courts must consider the guidelines as well as the other fac-
tors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) in selecting an appropriate sen-
tence. Booker, 543 U.S at 245-68; see also Gall v. United
States, 128 S. Ct. 586, 594 (2007).
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 9
Nothing in Booker, however, expands the permissible
extent of sentencing reductions under § 3582(c)(2). Even
before Booker, the guidelines were not mandatory in
§ 3582(c) proceedings. Courts are not required to reduce a
sentence. Section 3582(c)(2) merely provides that they "may"
do so in certain circumstances. And even if a court does
reduce a sentence, it is not required to do so to the full extent
allowed by a retroactive guideline amendment. Instead, then,
as now, courts are to "consider[ ] the factors set forth in
§ 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable" and reduce
the sentence "if such a reduction is consistent with applicable
policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission."
§ 3582(c)(2). The § 3553(a) factors were always the guiding
principle under § 3582(c)(2), with the limitation that a reduc-
tion must be in accord with the Commission’s policy state-
ments.

Booker thus had no direct effect on § 3582(c)(2). While it
applied the now-familiar rule that "[o]ther than the fact of a
prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a
crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be sub-
mitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt,"
Booker, 543 U.S. at 231 (quoting Apprendi v. New Jersey,
530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000)), such a rule has no application to
proceedings under § 3582(c)(2), which can only decrease —
not increase — the defendant’s sentence.3

Booker’s remedial holding is likewise inapplicable. Booker
applies to full sentencing hearings — whether in an initial
sentencing or in a resentencing where the original sentence is
vacated for error. The Booker Court excised and severed the
provision — 18 U.S.C. § 3553(b)—that made the guidelines
3
Further, the limits § 3582(c)(2) and U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10 impose on the
extent of reductions are, at most, the equivalent of mandatory minimum
sentences, which the Sixth Amendment permits within an otherwise-
authorized sentencing range. See Harris v. United States, 536 U.S. 545,
566 (2002).
10 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
mandatory in such sentencing proceedings. It also excised the
related provision on appellate review, 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e).
"With these two sections excised (and statutory cross-
references to the two sections consequently invalidated)," the
Court held, "the remainder of the Act satisfies the Court’s
constitutional requirements." Booker, 543 U.S. at 259. Section
3582(c)(2) contains no cross-reference to § 3553(b) and there-
fore was not affected by Booker. Nor is there anything else in
Booker that directly addresses § 3582(c) proceedings.

The Court in Booker did apply its advisory guidelines rem-
edy to full sentencing hearings in which no Sixth Amendment
violation existed, concluding that Congress would not have
wanted the guidelines to be mandatory in some contexts and
advisory in others. Id. at 266. The Court rested its decision on
two observations; the fact that neither applies to reduction
proceedings under § 3582(c)(2) reinforces our conclusion
regarding the limits on the scope of that provision. First, the
Court observed that Congress would not have wanted to "im-
pose mandatory . . . limits upon a judge’s ability to reduce
sentences," but not to "impose those limits upon a judge’s
ability to increase sentences." Id. Congress would not have
wanted such "one-way lever[s]." Id. But Congress clearly
intended § 3582(c)(2) to be a "one-way lever" insofar as it
gives the sentencing court the option to leave a defendant’s
sentence alone or to reduce it, but does not permit the court
to increase the sentence.

Second, the Booker Court observed that making the guide-
lines partially advisory and partially mandatory in federal sen-
tencings would create significant "administrative
complexities." Id. However, given the limited scope of a pro-
ceeding under § 3582(c)(2), the "administrative complexities"
that led the Supreme Court to require all guideline provisions
to be advisory at full sentencing proceedings are not present
here. Id. On the contrary, a holding that Booker requires full
resentencings whenever a guideline is made retroactive would
create administrative complexities and vastly expand the
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 11
scope of a sentencing reduction proceeding under
§ 3582(c)(2).

Albeit in a slightly different context, the Third Circuit has
rejected the notion that Booker, by rendering the guidelines
advisory, overrides the requirements of § 3582(c). In United
States v. Wise, the defendants argued that they could gain
relief under the crack amendments immediately, even though
the amendments had not yet become effective. 515 F.3d 207
(3d Cir. 2008). The Court held that the defendants could not
obtain immediate relief under § 3582(c)(2) because
§ 1B1.10(c) did not yet list the relevant amendments. Id. at
221. The Court stated:

Some may argue that, because the Guidelines are no
longer mandatory, defendants need not wait to apply
for relief under § 3582(c)(2). That fundamentally
misunderstands the limits of Booker. Nothing in that
decision purported to obviate the congressional
directive on whether a sentence could be reduced
based on subsequent changes in the Guidelines. As
we have stated before, ‘[t]he language of the applica-
ble sections could not be clearer: the statute directs
the Court to the policy statement, and the policy
statement provides that an amendment not listed in
subsection (c) may not be applied retroactively pur-
suant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).’

Id. at 221 n.11 (quoting United States v. Thompson, 70 F.3d
279, 281 (3d Cir. 1995)). Although the guidelines are no lon-
ger mandatory, "that does not render optional" the statutory
directives regarding their application. See id. at 220.

Dunphy, however, relies on the decision in United States v.
Hicks in which the Ninth Circuit held that reducing a sentence
below the amended guideline range was permissible under
§ 3582(c). 472 F.3d 1167 (9th Cir. 2007). Hicks involved a
§ 3582(c) sentence reduction motion, based on a retroactive
12 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
guideline amendment related to possession of firearms, at a
time when a prior version of the § 1B1.10 policy statement
was in effect. The Hicks court found that reducing a sentence
below the amended guideline range was consistent with that
pre-Amendment 712 version of § 1B1.10. Id. at 1172-73. In
that respect, the Hicks court noted that "[t]he policy state-
ments are silent on the manner in which the modified ranges
should be used." Id.

However, the post-Amendment 712 version of the policy
statement in § 1B1.10, applicable in the instant case,
expressly provides that a § 3582(c)(2) proceeding "do[es] not
constitute a full resentencing of the defendant," U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.10(a)(3), and it explicitly limits the extent of the autho-
rized reduction to "the minimum of the amended guideline
range," U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A). Thus, the Hicks court
was not confronted with the situation presented here, where
reducing a sentence below the amended guideline range
would be directly inconsistent with an applicable policy state-
ment of the Commission.

Hicks, however, went further and concluded that even if the
applicable policy statements had been inconsistent with
reducing a sentence below the amended guideline range, those
policy statements would have to "give way." 472 F.3d at
1173. In Hicks, the court’s view was that limiting the extent
of a § 3582(c)(2) sentencing reduction would amount to a
mandatory application of the guidelines that is prohibited by
Booker. Id. We find the Hicks analysis to be flawed because
it fails to consider two marked characteristics of a
§ 3582(c)(2) proceeding, which we discussed above: (1) this
proceeding allows only for downward adjustment and (2) this
proceeding is not a full resentencing hearing.4
4
In a recent decision, the Tenth Circuit also rejected the argument in
Hicks. United States v. Rhodes, 2008 WL 5102247 (10th Cir., December
5, 2008). The Tenth Circuit in Rhodes held, as we do here, that in resen-
tencing a defendant under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) because of the retroac-
tive amendment of the guidelines regarding crack cocaine offenses, a
district court lacks the authority to impose a sentence that is less than the
minimum of the amended guideline range. Id. at *7.
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 13
In an unpublished decision in United States v. Outlaw, this
court rejected the defendant’s effort to obtain a further reduc-
tion under Booker. 281 F. App’x 220 (4th Cir. 2008). This
court held that "the relief Outlaw seeks is unavailable under
§ 3582(c)(2)," citing United States v. Moreno, 421 F.3d 1217,
1220 (11th Cir. 2005), for the proposition that "Booker is
inapplicable to § 3582(c) motions." Outlaw, 281 F. App’x at
220.

Given that Booker does not apply to defendants whose sen-
tences were final when Booker was decided, applying Booker
in § 3582(c) proceedings would create patent inequity among
convicted defendants.5 Section 3582(c)(2) was meant only to
permit courts to reduce certain defendants’ sentences to
account for retroactive guideline amendments. To grant these
defendants a further reduction that is not afforded to similarly
situated defendants would increase the unwarranted sentenc-
ing disparities Congress sought to reduce in the Sentencing
Reform Act.6
5
We note that the conclusion that Booker does not apply in proceedings
under § 3582(c)(2) is consistent with the courts of appeals’ uniform hold-
ings that defendants whose convictions are final have no right to resen-
tencing under Booker on collateral review under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. See
Cirilo-Munoz v. United States, 404 F.3d 527, 532-33 (1st Cir. 2005); Guz-
man v. United States, 404 F.3d 139, 141 (2d Cir. 2005); Lloyd v. United
States, 407 F.3d 608, 613-16 (3d Cir. 2005); United States v. Morris, 429
F.3d 65, 66-67 (4th Cir. 2005); United States v. Gentry, 432 F.3d 600,
602-05 (5th Cir. 2005); Humphress v. United States, 398 F.3d 855, 860-63
(6th Cir. 2005); McReynolds v. United States, 397 F.3d 479, 481 (7th Cir.
2005); Never Misses A Shot v. United States, 413 F.3d 781, 783-84 (8th
Cir. 2005); United States v. Cruz, 423 F.3d 1119, 1121 (9th Cir. 2005);
United States v. Bellamy, 411 F.3d 1182, 1188 (10th Cir. 2005); Varela
v. United States, 400 F.3d 864, 867-68 (11th Cir. 2005); In re Fashina,
486 F.3d 1300, 1306 (D.C Cir. 2007). It would be incongruous if courts
interpreted § 3582(c)(2) to trigger a full Booker resentencing when it (1)
provides for much more limited relief than § 2255, (2) concerns only sen-
tence reductions, and (3) raises no Sixth Amendment concerns.
6
If we were to adopt Dunphy’s argument, for instance, a defendant con-
victed of possession of a large quantity of powder cocaine and a small
14 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
Dunphy also cites Kimbrough for the propositions that
offense levels based on crack cocaine quantity specifically are
advisory and that, in deciding whether to depart downward
from the guideline range, courts may take into account the
disparity between sentencing for powder cocaine and crack
cocaine. See Appellant Br. at 12-13. However, nothing in
Kimbrough undercuts the district court’s judgment because
the Court in Kimbrough did not address § 3582(c) proceed-
ings.

B.

In addition to her Booker argument, Dunphy argues that the
express limitation on the extent of her sentence reduction
established by U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b) should be disregarded as
a matter of statutory interpretation. Dunphy claims that the
language in § 3582(c)(2) directing the court to "consider the
factors in § 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable"
mandates a full resentencing in every case and precludes the
Commission from setting any limitation on the extent of a
§ 3582(c) reduction. See Appellant Br. 10. Any limitation set
by the Commission would, in Dunphy’s view, conflict with

quantity of crack cocaine could be eligible for full resentencing, even if
the quantity of powder cocaine was sufficient to yield the original base
offense level (so that the retroactive crack cocaine amendments alone
would not yield any reduction). The same situation would arise whenever
an offense that accompanied the crack cocaine offense was sufficient to
yield the original base offense level. Similarly, a full resentencing for
those eligible for potential reduction under retroactive amendments would
mean that they alone among those convicted would presumably have the
opportunity to bring events that happened subsequent to their original sen-
tencing to bear in their resentencing. Or, again, those eligible for potential
reduction under retroactive amendments would have the opportunity to re-
present original mitigating factors in the hopes that a different judge
would be more lenient than the original sentencing judge. These illustra-
tions also make apparent the additional administrative complexities that
would accompany a holding that would transform a § 3582(c)(2) proceed-
ing into a full re-sentencing hearing.
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 15
the mandate that the court consider the § 3553(a) factors. We
disagree.

Contrary to Dunphy’s argument, the reference in § 3582(c)
to consideration of the § 3553(a) factors does not invalidate
the limitations in the U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b) policy statement.
Rather, the reference in § 3582(c) is implemented through the
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10 requirement that a court consider the
§ 3553(a) factors (including the guidelines) in determining:
(1) whether a reduction is warranted and (2) the extent of such
reduction. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10, App. Note 1(B)(i).7 In that
manner, consideration is given to the § 3553(a) factors with-
out turning a § 3582(c) hearing into a full sentencing hearing
and without disregarding the § 3582(c) requirement that a
reduction be consistent with the Commission’s policy state-
ments. As the Eighth Circuit held in Hasan:

The language of the statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2),
is clear. The factors set forth in § 3553(a) and the
applicable policy statements are to be considered
only when making the decision whether to reduce a
term of imprisonment as a result of the Sentencing
Commission’s lowering of the sentencing range. The
statute does not say that the court may reduce the
term of imprisonment below the amended sentencing
range or that the § 3553(a) factors or the applicable
policy statements should be considered for such an
additional reduction.

Hasan, 245 F.3d at 685.
7
App. Note 1(B)(i) to U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10 provides:
In general. — Consistent with 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), the court
shall consider the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) in
determining: (I) whether a reduction of the defendant’s term of
imprisonment is warranted; and (II) the extent of such reduction,
but only within the limits described in [U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)].
16 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY
The district court here expressly considered the § 3553(a)
factors in making the determination (1) that a reduction of
Dunphy’s term of imprisonment was warranted and (2) that
the extent of the reduction for Dunphy should be to the mini-
mum of the amended guideline range. It properly did so in
accord with the limits described in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b),
refusing to go below the minimum of the amended guideline
range.8 J.A. 82-83.

Dunphy also argues that the § 1B1.10(b) policy statement
and accompanying commentary are "not the type of policy
statement Congress had in mind in § 3582(c)(2)."9 Appellant
Br. 15. To support her argument, Dunphy references the
Supreme Court’s statement in Braxton, 500 U.S. at 348, that
"Congress has granted the Commission the unusual explicit
power to decide whether and to what extent its amendments
reducing sentences will be given retroactive effect, 28 U.S.C.
§ 994(u)." Appellant Br. 15. However, as Dunphy’s quotation
demonstrates, far from supporting Dunphy’s argument, Brax-
ton explicitly recognizes the Commission’s power under 28
U.S.C. § 994(u) to decide whether an amendment will be
given retroactive effect and to decide the extent of that retro-
active effect. See Braxton, 500 U.S. at 348. The Commission
has exercised that power in limiting the extent of § 3582(c)
reductions in § 1B1.10(b).

Dunphy further argues that § 1B1.10(b) is invalid under
28 U.S.C. § 994(a)(2). Appellant Br. 17-18. However,
§ 994(a)(2) expressly authorizes such policy statements, as it
describes the duty of the Commission to promulgate and dis-
8
Further, Dunphy’s proposed interpretation of § 3582(c) ignores the lan-
guage in that statute immediately following the reference to 3553(a) —
language that expressly conditions the availability of any reduction on
consistency with the Commission’s applicable policy statements.
9
Dunphy would apparently have this Court give full effect under
§ 3582(c) to the portion of § 1B1.10 designating Amendment 706 as retro-
active, see U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(c), but conveniently ignore the remainder of
the same policy statement.
 UNITED STATES v. DUNPHY 17
tribute general policy statements regarding how the guidelines
ought to be applied or implemented, "including the appropri-
ate use of . . . the sentence modification provisions set forth
in section[ ] . . . 3582(c) of title 18." § 994(a)(2). Nothing in
§ 994(a)(2) bars the Commission from issuing a policy state-
ment regarding the implementation of sentence reductions
under § 3582(c), as it has done in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10.

Dunphy notes that the Commission described Amendment
706 as an interim measure to alleviate some of the problems
associated with the 100-to-1 powder/crack drug quantity ratio.
But that does not make the amended drug-quantity guideline
invalid in the present case. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c). Nor does
the Commission’s description of Amendment 706 as an
interim measure invalidate § 1B1.10(b), the policy statement
that, in conjunction with § 3582(c), controls the retroactive
effect of lowered guidelines.

IV.

When a sentence is within the guidelines applicable at the
time of the original sentencing, in an 18 U.S.C § 3582(c)
resentencing hearing, a district judge is not authorized to
reduce a defendant’s sentence below the amended guideline
range. Consequently, the district court’s order is

AFFIRMED.