United States v. Douglas Sharp

The government’s appeal from the sentence imposed on Douglas Sharp requires us to determine whether a district court may justify a sentence below the minimum established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 by relying upon mitigating circumstances sufficient to justify a sentence below the minimum established by the United States Sentencing Guidelines. We hold that it may not, and therefore vacate Sharp’s sentence and remand for resentenc-ing.

I

Sharp was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiracy and one count of possession with intent to distribute 4,985 grams of cocaine, in violation of 21…