Case: 15-13217 Date Filed: 07/24/2018 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 15-13217 ________________________ D.C. No. 0:97-CR-06007-FAM-16 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JOEL G. AUDAIN, a.k.a. New Chief, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ________________________ (July 24, 2018) Case: 15-13217 Date Filed: 07/24/2018 Page: 2 of 8 Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, MARCUS and EBEL, ∗ Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Defendant Joel Audain appeals the district court’s decision to deny his motion for a reduced sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Because the district court relied on an improper factual finding to deny § 3582(c)(2) relief, we vacate the district court’s decision and remand for further proceedings. I. BACKGROUND In 1998, a jury convicted Audain, a former Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) officer, of 1) conspiracy to import cocaine; 2) conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it; 3) conspiracy to launder money; and 4) engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. At sentencing, the district court calculated Audain’s base offense to be 38, after finding Audain’s criminal conduct involved at least 150 kilograms of cocaine. That was, at that time, the highest base offense available for his drug- trafficking crimes based on type and amount of drugs involved. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(1) (1998). The court increased that base offense level of 38 by two levels after finding Audain had abused a position of trust, and by another two levels because he used a firearm during his drug-trafficking offenses. Important for our purposes here, although the presentence report (“PSR”) suggested adding ∗ The Honorable David M. Ebel, Senior United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, sitting by designation. 2 Case: 15-13217 Date Filed: 07/24/2018 Page: 3 of 8 yet another two levels for obstruction of justice, the district court found at sentencing that that enhancement did not apply to Audain.1 The sentencing court thus calculated Audain’s total offense level to be 42. Combined with his criminal history category I, that offense level resulted in an advisory range of 360 months to life in prison. The district court imposed concurrent life sentences for each of Audain’s two drug-trafficking convictions—at the top of the advisory imprisonment range—because Audain, as a law enforcement officer who abused his position, “deserves a higher punishment” (Doc. 985 at 76-77). 2 A number of years later, the U.S. Sentencing Commission amended U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, see U.S.S.G. App. C., Amdt. 782 (effective Nov. 1, 2014), to “reduce[] the base offense level by two levels for most drug offenses,” Hughes v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 1765, 1774 (2018). Relevant here, Amendment 782 made offenses involving at least 150 kilograms but less than 450 kilograms of cocaine 1 The PSR recommended the obstruction-of-justice enhancement based on the PSR’s assertion that 1) Audain, as an INS officer, used his access to information about ...
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