Unlocking the Sentencing Guidelines, A Virtual Series: Session 3 - Calculating Guidelines in Drug Cases

Unlocking the Sentencing Guidelines: A Virtual Series is a comprehensive examination of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Monthly webinars will examine topics in Chapter One on relevant conduct; in Chapter Two on guideline calculations for drug offenses, firearm offenses, immigration offenses, sex offenses, and economic crime offenses; in Chapter Three on adjustments and grouping; in Chapter Four on criminal history calculations and career offender/categorical approach problems; in Chapters Five and Seven on imposition and violations of probation/supervised release; on recent guideline amendments and trending sentencing guideline issues; on the effective use of data and resources in deconstructing the guidelines; and, finally, on the importance of injecting the clients' stories to move away from a rigid application of the guidelines, particularly when the guidelines provide too harsh a sentence.

Session 3 - Calculating Guidelines in Drug Cases

Drug trafficking and distribution cases are the most commonly prosecuted of all federal offenses. As defense practitioners, we are compelled to be experts on the fundamentals and nuances of USSG Section 2D1.1. This session will begin with an overview of the method to determine base offense levels for the type and quantity of drugs involved in your case. We will then delve in to such concepts as relevant conduct, safety value, role adjustments and more, all of which must be considered to determine your client's total offense level. This session will conclude examining how Kimbrough can mitigate the drug type/quantity/purity structure of USSG Section 2D1.1, which fails to advance the purposes of sentencing under 18 U.S.C. Section 3553(a).

Presenter:

Lex A. Coleman is the Senior Litigator AFPD for the Southern District of West Virginia. He was previously appointed to the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the Northern District of Georgia (2006), the Sixth Circuit (2005), and the Eastern District of Tennessee (2000). He served as judicial law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge John Y. Powers, E.D.TN, from 1991-92. Education: Cecil C. Humphrey's School of Law, Univ. of Memphis, 1991 (Int'l Law Moot Court, Law Review); Rhodes College, B.A. Economics & Finance, 1986 (London School of Economics, summer grant, 1985). Member NACDL, John A. Fields, Jr., American Inns of Court.

CLE Information:

We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the webinar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within 15-30 days following the program.

• To minimize reporting fees per attorney/program, if you are barred in more than one of the following states NM, TN, PA, NE, attendance will be reported to one state only.
• The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
• For applicable states, attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
• Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.