×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Have Discretion to Consider Non-Retroactive Changes in Post-Sentencing Decisional Law in Assessing ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons’ for Sentence Reduction
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit joined the First, Second, and Fourth Circuits in holding that when deciding motions filed by defendants seeking a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), U.S. District Courts may consider non-retroactive changes in post-sentencing decisional law …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Criminal Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Police Misconduct Reform: Forcing Police Officers to Have ‘Skin in the Game’ by Creating Financial Incentives with Insurance Premiums, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentencing Factors, by Douglas Ankney
- Closed Circuit Cameras: Not the Objective Lenses We’re Told, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Database Containing 450,000 Records of NYPD Misconduct Now Available, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Have Discretion to Consider Non-Retroactive Changes in Post-Sentencing Decisional Law in Assessing ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons’ for Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
- New Tool Used by Police to Improve Interviewing Skills, by Jordan Arizmendi
- New York Court of Appeals Suppresses Evidence Because Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion Necessary for Level 3 Stop and Frisk Under De Bour Framework, by Richard Resch
- Kansas Supreme Court: Defendants May File a Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence in Appellate Court While on Direct Review, by Douglas Ankney
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-2022, by Casey Bastian
- SCOTUS Announces Pending Investigation or Proceeding Is Not Required for an Offense to be ‘Related to Obstruction of Justice’ and Qualify as ‘Aggravated Felony’ in Removal of Noncitizen, by Douglas Ankney
- We’re All Suspects in a DNA Lineup, Waiting to be Matched with a Crime, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
- California Supreme Court Vacates Second Degree Murder Conviction Where Jury Instructed on Now Invalid Felony-Murder Theory, by Douglas Ankney
- U.S. Supreme Court Announces § 2255(e)’s ‘Saving Clause’ Does Not Enable Prisoners to File § 2241 Petition Based on AEDPA’s Rule Against Second or Successive § 2255 Motions, by Douglas Ankney
- ‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Abused Discretion in Failing to Recall Terminally Ill Prisoner’s Sentence Following CDCR’s Recommendation for Compassionate Release, by Douglas Ankney
- American Bar Association’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report, by Carlo Difundo
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas Petition Where District Court Failed to Review Magistrate’s Report De Novo After Characterizing Petitioner’s Objections as ‘Attempt to Reargue Case’, by Douglas Ankney
- D.C. Circuit Orders New Trial Due to Brady Violations Involving Source of Information, Not Withholding of Information Itself, by Richard Resch
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Granting Motion for New Trial Because ‘Verdict Is Contrary to Law and Evidence,’ Without Further Explanation, Bars Retrial, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element, by David Reutter
- How the Backdoor Loophole Enables the FBI to Search Your Communications Without a Warrant, by Michael Thompson
- Ninth Circuit Announces No Deference to Application Note 1 to Guideline § 4B1.2(b) Because It Impermissibly Expands Definition of ‘Controlled Substance Offense’, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review, by Douglas Ankney
- Digital Voiceprinting Is Not Ready for Court, by Anthony Accurso
- Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Mansor Ruling for Search Warrants for Digital Data and Announces Framework for Suppression When Warrant Contains Both Constitutional and Unconstitutional Search Categories, by Anthony Accurso
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026
- Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-Circumstances Framework Focused on Defendant’s Subjective Understanding Under § 1473.7(a)(1), Holding Immigration Consequences Advisement Is Relevant but Not Dispositive, Oct. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces, Oct. 1, 2026
- Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
- Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
- Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- $4,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Requests, Oct. 1, 2026. Damages, Retroactivity, Public Records Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
- Tenth Circuit Announces Resentencing After Probation Revocation Must Begin with Chapter 7 Range, Holding Chapter 5 Range Should Be Considered When Deciding Whether to Vary, Sept. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statement of Reasons, Sentence, Factors To Be Considered.
- Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Plain Error, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct.
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Betts Decision Invalidating 2011 SORA as Ex Post Facto Punishment Applies Retroactively to Defendants on Collateral Review, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Retroactivity, Ex Post Facto, Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
- California Supreme Court Announces Amended § 1170(b) Applies Retroactively to Plea-Bargained Upper Term Sentences, July 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Sixth Amendment, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Grounds For Withdrawal, Validity of.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Alternative Sentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts, Drug Quantity.
- First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Sentencing Findings, Relevant Conduct.
- Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
- California Supreme Court Announces § 189(e)(2) Requires Nonkiller to Aid the Actual Killer in the Lethal Act, Resolving Appellate Split, May 1, 2026. Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Essential Elements of Crime, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Accessories and Accomplices.
