USCA11 Case: 20-13953 Date Filed: 07/09/2021 Page: 1 of 3
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 20-13953
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:09-cr-20672-DPG-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
EDDIE LEE HUDSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(July 9, 2021)
Before WILSON, BRANCH, and GRANT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
USCA11 Case: 20-13953 Date Filed: 07/09/2021 Page: 2 of 3
Eddie Hudson appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to reduce his
sentence under § 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, arguing that the district court
erred in finding that he was not entitled to a sentence reduction because his
conviction under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) was not a “covered offense.”
The First Step Act made retroactive the statutory penalties for a “covered
offense” under the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. See First Step Act § 404 (“A
court that imposed a sentence for a covered offense may . . . impose a reduced
sentence as if sections 2 and 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 were in effect at
the time the covered offense was committed.” (citation omitted)). The First Step
Act defines a “covered offense” as “a violation of a Federal criminal statute, the
statutory penalties for which were modified by section 2 or 3 of the Fair
Sentencing Act of 2010, that was committed before August 3, 2010.” Id. § 404(a)
(citation omitted). The question here is whether a defendant, like Hudson, who
was sentenced for a crack-cocaine offense under § 841(b)(1)(C), has a “covered
offense” that would render him eligible for a sentence reduction under the First
Step Act.
In a recent decision, the Supreme Court held that the Fair Sentencing Act did
nothing to modify the statutory penalty for § 841(b)(1)(C). Terry v. United States,
141 S. Ct. 1858 (2021). Under the Supreme Court’s holding in Terry, Hudson’s
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USCA11 Case: 20-13953 Date Filed: 07/09/2021 Page: 3 of 3
conviction under § 841(b)(1)(C) is not a covered offense. Therefore, the district
court did not err in finding him ineligible for a sentence reduction.
AFFIRMED.
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