Rutherford v. United States · ¶107

The majority would have a point if the Commission instructed courts to grant relief based solely on a nonretroactive change in law; such an approach would amount to granting relief on a categorical basis, which would be in tension with the categorical nonretroactive nature of Congress's amendments here. The Commission's guidance, however, permits consideration of changes in law only when the disparity is “gross,” the sentence is “unusually long,” and the defendant has served at least 10 years of his sentence. § 1B1.3(b)(6). It also requires courts to give “full consideration of the defendant's individualized circumstances” while weighing any change in law. Ibid. That individualized approach is consistent with Congress's judgment that prior § 924(c) offenders are not automatically entitled to relief, and in no way countermands Congress's more general decision not to make the First Step…

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