The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last month issued its first published opinion examining the scope of relief offered to certain persons convicted of crack cocaine offenses under the First Step Act, Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194 (2018). See United States v. Holloway, —F.3d—, No. 19-1035-cr, 2020 WL 1966840, at *4 (2d Cir. April 24, 2020). In an opinion written by Circuit Judge William Nardini, and joined by Circuit Judges Barrington Parker and Debra Livingston, the Second Circuit held that the First Step Act is a statutory source of sentencing relief independent from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines or any other policy statement that may otherwise preclude a reduction in sentence.

The court joined the Third, Fourth and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeal in holding that the First Step Act does not disqualify applicants from sentencing relief even when they fail to show a reduced advisory guideline range. See, e.g., United States v. Wirsing, 943 F.3d 175, 183 (4th Cir. 2019); United States v. Beamus, 943 F.3d 789, 792 (6th Cir. 2019); United States v. Gibbs, 787 F. App’x 71, 72 n.1 (3d Cir. 2019). In this opinion, one of the first written by recently confirmed Judge Nardini, the court declined to follow the reasoning of several district court decisions that limited applicants’ eligibility for First Step Act sentencing relief.

The Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act

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