Free Motion for Reconsideration - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:01-cr-00214-WYD

Document 3599

Filed 06/02/2008

Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Criminal Case NO. 01-CR-214-WYD UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. GEORGE MURRAY, Defendant. ______________________________________________________________________________ DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF SENTENCE ­ STATEMENT OF COUNSEL ______________________________________________________________________________ COMES NOW the undersigned CJA counsel for Defendant GEORGE MURRAY, Wade H. Eldridge, and states as follows: 1. The undersigned was CJA counsel for GEORGE MURRAY at trial, and on appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit remanded the case for resentencing. On remand, the Court imposed a sentence of one hundred twenty months for his conviction of Count Twenty-Three (Distribution and Possession with Intent to Distribute 7 Grams of Cocaine Base, Aiding and Abetting, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(iii); 18 U.S.C. 2 and 21 U.S.C. 851. 2. GEORGE MURRAY has filed a pro se motion for reconsideration of sentence, and the undersigned has been appointed to represent him in that effort.

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Case 1:01-cr-00214-WYD

Document 3599

Filed 06/02/2008

Page 2 of 3

3. It appears to the undersigned that the "mandatory minimum" required for a violation of the above referenced statutes has not been affected by Sentencing Commission's reduction in the "crack" guidelines. 4. Counsel notes that 21 U.S.C. (b)(1)(B)(iii) provides for a sentence of imprisonment of not less than 5 years, unless the defendant has a previous felony drug offense which has become final, in which case the sentence may not be less than 10 years imprisonment. According to the pre-sentence investigation, GEORGE MURRAY had a conviction on 7/29/99 for possession of cocaine. 5. The Defendant contends that in order to double the defendant's sentence, his previous drug conviction must be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. However, counsel is aware of the holding of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Almedarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), as well as an opinion in this Circuit, United States v. Moore, 401 F.3d 1220 (10th Cir 2005) to the contrary. Dated June 2, 2008 Respectfully submitted, WADE H. ELDRIDGE, PC _S/ Wade H. Eldridge Wade H. Eldridge 1471 Stuart St. Denver Colorado 80204 (303) 861-4222 Attorney Defendant GEORGE MURRAY

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE (CM/ECF)

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Case 1:01-cr-00214-WYD

Document 3599

Filed 06/02/2008

Page 3 of 3

I hereby certify that on June 2, 2008, I electronically filed the foregoing DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF SENTENCE ­ STATEMENT OF COUNSEL with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following counsel: Guy Till Assistant United States Attorney [email protected] And I hereby certify that I have mailed or served the document or paper of the following nonCM/ECF participants in the manner indicated: None S/Michelle M. Counce Michelle M. Counce Paralegal Wade H. Eldridge, P.C. 1471 Stuart Street Denver Colorado 80204 (303) 861-4222 [email protected]

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