NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 23a0516n.06
Case No. 22-3789
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
FILED Dec 12, 2023 ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) ON APPEAL FROM THE v. ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT ) COURT FOR THE NORTHERN ANDRE BADLEY, ) DISTRICT OF OHIO Defendant-Appellant. ) ) OPINION
Before: BOGGS, READLER, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
STEPHANIE D. DAVIS, Circuit Judge. In March 2021, members of the Shaker Heights
Police Department (“SHPD”) executed a search warrant at the home of Defendant, Andre Badley.
Officers obtained the warrant after taking a series of investigative steps that culminated in a
controlled purchase of crack cocaine (“crack”) by a confidential informant (“CI”) from Badley
about two days before the warrant was issued. While searching Badley’s home, officers seized
various quantities of controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, cash, firearms, and ammunition.
Based on the crack Badley had sold to the CI and the evidence uncovered through the search
warrant, the government obtained an indictment from a grand jury. Badley was tried and convicted
on four counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of
21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), and (b)(1)(C), and one count of being a felon in possession of
firearms and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2). No. 22-3789, United States v. Badley
Prior to his conviction, Badley filed a motion to suppress the evidence collected during the
search of his home, or alternatively, for a hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154
(1978) (“Franks hearing”). Badley argued that, despite the issuance of the search warrant by a
neutral judicial officer, the police lacked probable cause to search his home because the affidavit
supporting the warrant did not establish a nexus between his home and drug-trafficking activities.
As for his request for a Franks hearing, he contended that the affidavit contained false information
that undermined the integrity of the search. He now appeals the district court’s denial of his motion
to suppress, largely reprising these same arguments. He also appeals the district court’s imposition
of a 51-month sentence for a supervised released violation, to be served consecutive to his 188-
month sentence for the 2021 offenses. In that regard, he argues that his supervised release term
for a prior offense, committed in 1995, expired long before he committed the 2021 offense because
the district court reduced his 1995 sentence to time served. Because the affidavit supporting the
search warrant for Badley’s home amply supported a finding of probable cause and, contrary to
Badley’s contention, he remained on supervised release when he committed the instant offenses,
we affirm.
I.
Factual Background. In 1995, Badley was charged with possession with intent to distribute
more than 50 grams of cocaine base (“crack”) and possession with intent to distribute more than
50 grams of powder cocaine, both in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Because of the drug
quantities involved and Badley’s record of prior felony drug offenses, the government filed an
information for enhanced statutory penalties if he was convicted. The case proceeded to trial and
Badley was convicted on both counts. The district court sentenced him to the applicable enhanced
statutory penalty: a mandatory term of life in prison. After enactment of the First Step Act in 2018
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(“the Act”), which, among other things, reduced the sentence-length disparity between crack and
powder cocaine convictions and changed the manner in which prior felony drug convictions
triggered sentencing enhancements, Badley filed a motion asking the district court to reduce his
life sentence, as permitted by the Act. Under the Act, Badley’s convictions would have required
a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence rather than a mandatory life term. On resentencing in
February 2019, the court sentenced Badley to time served and ordered his immediate release since
he had already served approximately 24 years in prison. The district court also imposed an eight-
year term of supervised release.
Approximately two years later, a CI met with Detective Chris Spinos of the SHPD in
Shaker Heights, Ohio, and advised him that Badley was selling crack in the area. The informant
also identified (1) the general area where Badley lived—Garfield Heights, Maple Heights, and
Bedford; (2) two cars that Badley drove—a black Chevrolet Trailblazer and a black BMW; and
(3) Badley’s girlfriend’s nickname—“Ash.” According to Detective Spinos, this CI had provided
information against the CI’s own penal interest; information the CI offered had been investigated
and deemed credible; and Detective Spinos considered the CI to be trustworthy and reliable.
Indeed, vehicle registration records confirmed that Badley owned one of the vehicles the CI had
accurately identified. Business records also showed that, within the last year, Badley had
registered a limited liability company (“LLC”) at an apartment in Bedford, Ohio.
Officers went to that location, which was in a large apartment complex at 646 Turney Road.
They saw Badley’s car and a second car that matched the description the CI had given. With the
assistance of a postal inspector, officers verified that Badley received packages at a particular unit
in the apartment complex. They also learned that a woman named Ashley Thorpe received
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packages at the same apartment unit. The first name “Ashley” was consistent with the nickname
“Ash” that the CI had provided officers.
On March 1, 2021, the CI made a controlled purchase of crack from Badley under the
supervision of officers from the SHPD. Detective Spinos searched the CI for drugs, money, and
contraband before providing him with cash containing recorded serial numbers to make the
purchase from Badley. The CI also wore a “body wire” through which the CI could relay
conversations to Detective Spinos. Shortly after the CI placed a monitored phone call to Badley
to set up the transaction, another detective stationed in the parking lot outside of Badley’s
apartment building watched Badley exit the front door of his apartment building and enter the
black BMW the CI had previously identified. According to the search-warrant affidavit, Badley’s
vehicle “was monitored by members of your Affiant’s squad until the time it arrived and [met]
with the CI.” (R. 25-1, PageID 199). Once Badley arrived at the location for the controlled buy,
he exchanged crack for cash.
Within 48 hours of the controlled buy, Detective Spinos requested a state search warrant
for Badley’s apartment. In support of the warrant, Detective Spinos submitted an affidavit
detailing the above facts to a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge. Detective Spinos
also provided information about his professional law-enforcement background and explained that,
based on his training and experience, drug traffickers routinely “store quantities of controlled
substances, weapons, ammunitions, and proceeds of drug sales . . . in their residences,” as well as
records about their transactions, including on electronic devices. (Id. at 199). Finding probable
cause to search, the judge issued the warrant. The resulting search uncovered drugs (marijuana,
crack, powder cocaine, and a mixture containing heroin, fentanyl, and tramadol), digital scales,
drug paraphernalia, $5,000 cash, and two firearms and ammunition.
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Procedural Background. A federal grand jury indicted Badley on multiple charges,
including four counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count
of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Badley moved to suppress the evidence seized during
execution of the search warrant at his apartment. He principally argued that the supporting
affidavit lacked probable cause on its face because it did not establish a nexus between his
residence and drug trafficking. Badley also alleged that the search-warrant affidavit contained
material omissions and false information. Specifically, Badley took issue with Detective Spinos’s
statement in the warrant affidavit that “[t]his vehicle was monitored by members of your Affiant’s
squad until the time it arrived and meets with the CI.” (Id. at 199). In support of Badley’s request
for a Franks hearing, he attached a supplemental report from the SHPD that documented Sgt. Eric
Conwell’s statement that the squad performed a “loose tail of the target.” (R. 43, PageID 363).
The report also indicated that while Sgt. Conwell lost continuous sight of the target, both he and
Badley arrived within a minute of one another at the controlled-buy location, thus making it
“improbable [that] the target had time to stop during his travels.” Id. at 363–64. Badley argued
that because the officers lost sight of his vehicle at one point, the statement that his vehicle was
monitored “until the time it arrived” at the controlled-buy location was false and grossly misled
the judge who issued the warrant.
The district court denied Badley’s motion to suppress evidence and his request for a Franks
hearing. In denying the Franks hearing, the district court held that Badley had failed to make a
substantial preliminary showing that the affidavit included a knowingly and intentionally false
statement or a statement made with reckless disregard for the truth. The court found that Badley’s
argument fell short for several reasons, including the fact that “the initial sentence of the same
paragraph of the affidavit read[]: ‘Affiants avers that the CI travelled to the area in the City of
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Cleveland while under constant surveillance by members of your affiant’s squad.’” (Id. at 364)
(emphasis in original). The district court observed that this language made clear that when the
affiant wanted to convey a view that surveillance occurred without interruption, the affiant
carefully chose language to reflect that fact. The court also found that the use of the term
“monitored,” contrary to Badley’s contention, does not denote “constant surveillance.” (Id. at
365). Finally, the district court held that the affidavit did not lack probable cause on its face
because there was a nexus between Badley’s residence and the crime, as Badley engaged in drug-
trafficking activities while present at 646 Turney Road when he took a monitored call to arrange
the controlled buy and emerged from the residence shortly after the offer to sell was made.
Badley exercised his right to trial and was convicted on all counts of the indictment.
Badley’s advisory Guidelines range was 151-188 months and, based on the drug amount involved,
he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment on two of the counts. At
sentencing, the court imposed a within-Guidelines sentence of 188 months, to be followed by 8
years of supervised release. The court also imposed a consecutive 51-month sentence for the
supervised-release violation arising from his 1995 conviction. Badley timely appealed.
II.
We review a district court’s decision on a motion to suppress evidence for clear error as to
factual findings and de novo as to conclusions of law, viewing the evidence in a light most
favorable to the government. United States v. Lott, 954 F.3d 919, 922 (6th Cir. 2020). Moreover,
“we give ‘great deference’ to the state judge’s initial probable-cause conclusion when issuing the
warrant, asking merely whether the judge had a ‘substantial basis’ for that conclusion.” United
States v. Sheckles, 996 F.3d 330, 337–38 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 717 (2021) (quoting
first United States v. Hines, 885 F.3d 919, 924 (6th Cir. 2018), then United States v. Allen, 211
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F.3d 970, 973 (6th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (citations omitted)). We will uphold the denial of a motion
to suppress “if the district court’s conclusion can be justified for any reason.” United States v.
Moorehead, 912 F.3d 963, 966 (6th Cir. 2019) (quoting United States v. Pasquarille, 20 F.3d 682,
685 (6th Cir. 1994)). We also review whether the district court correctly applied the laws regarding
supervised release de novo. United States v. VanHoose, 437 F.3d 497, 501 (6th Cir. 2006); United
States v. Marlow, 278 F.3d 581, 583 (6th Cir. 2002).
III.
Probable Cause Determination. The Fourth Amendment protects the right to be free from
unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const. amend. IV. It provides that “no Warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause . . . and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.” Id. A finding of “[p]robable cause ‘requires only a probability or
substantial chance of criminal activity, not an actual showing of such activity.’” United States v.
Christian, 925 F.3d 305, 311 (6th Cir. 2019) (quoting United States v. Tagg, 886 F.3d 579, 585
(6th Cir. 2018)). Supporting this notion, “[t]ime and again the Supreme Court has emphasized that
probable cause is not a high bar to clear.” Id. (quoting District of Columbia v. Wesby, 138 S. Ct.
577, 586 (2018) (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted)). Still, there is no probable
cause where there is no nexus between the “place” to be searched and the “things” to be seized.
United States v. Reed, 993 F.3d 441, 447 (6th Cir. 2021), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 289 (2021) (citing
U.S. Const. amend. IV). To uphold the adequacy of the search-warrant affidavit, “[t]here must be
a fair probability that the specific place that officers want to search will contain the specific things
that they are looking for.” Id. We assess nexus on a case-by-case basis, and our decisions reflect
the difficulty in distinguishing between the myriad, often overlapping, fact patterns involving drug
trafficking. See id. (“Courts have drawn fine lines between cases with ‘little to distinguish’ those
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that find probable cause from those that do not.”) (quoting United States v. Savoca, 761 F.2d 292,
298 (6th Cir. 1985)). Yet, even recognizing such difficulties, the warrant to search Badley’s
apartment fits comfortably among those where we have upheld probable cause findings.
Badley’s principal argument is that the search-warrant affidavit failed to establish the
requisite nexus between his residence and his drug-dealing activities. To determine whether a
warrant was supported by probable cause, “we look only to the four corners of the affidavit.”
United States v. Waide, 60 F.4th 327, 337 (6th Cir. 2023) (quoting United States v. Abernathy, 843
F.3d 243, 249 (6th Cir. 2016)). And the question of whether an affidavit establishes a proper nexus
is resolved by examining the “totality-of-the-circumstances” presented. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S.
213, 238 (1983). Admittedly, our jurisprudence is not entirely clear as to whether a defendant’s
status as a drug dealer, standing alone, is sufficient to establish a nexus between his residence and
drug activities. See United States v. Ardd, 911 F.3d 348, 351 (6th Cir. 2018) (collecting cases).
But other evidence linking the drug dealing to the residence does. Reed, 993 F.3d at 448. For
instance, we have found a sufficient nexus where the affidavit established that the defendant left a
residence after the arrangement of a controlled buy and “drove straight to the drug deal in which
he was the seller.” See Jones v. United States, 817 F.3d 489, 491–92 (6th Cir. 2016). And we
reached the same conclusion in a case where “the affidavit in support of the residential search
warrant established that [the defendant] was an active drug trafficker, that the . . . address [to be
searched] was [the defendant’s] home, and that both of [the defendant’s] vehicles were regularly
parked there.” United States v. Coleman, 923 F.3d 450, 457 (6th Cir. 2019). The affidavit in
Coleman further provided that “agents had conducted three controlled buys of cocaine from [the
defendant] and observed him drive directly from his condo to the site of the most recent buy, less
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than two weeks before the warrant issued.” Id.; see also United States v. Miller, 850 F. App’x
370, 373 (6th Cir. 2021) (citing additional cases).
Here, Badley’s case is analogous to Jones, Coleman, and other cases where law
enforcement observed a defendant driving directly from the residence to be searched to the
controlled-buy location. The warrant affidavit explained that Badley was inside the residence
when he took the CI’s phone call placing an order for crack, and minutes later Sgt. Conwell
observed Badley leaving the residence and traveling to the controlled buy. The combination of
these facts provided a substantial basis to believe that Badley was trafficking drugs, and that drugs
or drug paraphernalia might be found inside his residence. See United States v. Houser, 752 F.
App’x 223, 226–27 (6th Cir. 2018) (stating that officers witnessed the defendant leave from and
then return to his apartment immediately before and after selling crack cocaine, thus establishing
a sufficient nexus to search the residence for drug-related evidence); see also United States v.
Gunter, 266 F. App’x 415, 419 (6th Cir. 2008) (finding that nexus exists between a known drug
dealer’s criminal activity and residence when the defendant traveled directly from his home to a
drug transaction).
What’s more, the affidavit established that Badley lived at the searched address as officers
observed him exiting from the front door of the address, parking his car(s) there, and receiving
packages through the postal service there. He was further tied to the address by records showing
he had registered an LLC at that same apartment. Beyond the facts specific to Badley, the affiant,
Detective Spinos, also detailed parts of his training and experience pertaining to the likelihood of
finding contraband and evidence of drug trafficking at the homes of active drug dealers. In that
regard, Detective Spinos attested to the fact that he had eight years of experience, had participated
in hundreds of arrests and criminal prosecutions in a variety of areas, and had received training in
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criminal activity and drug interdiction. And most relevant here, he explained that “based on his
training and experience, persons who engage in drug trafficking do not keep all contraband on
their persons, but routinely store quantities of controlled substances, weapons, ammunitions, and
proceeds of drug sales including currency, in their residences.” R. 25-1, PageID 199; see United
States v. Caicedo, 85 F.3d 1184, 1193 (6th Cir. 1996) (holding that it is reasonable to defer to the
attesting officer’s expertise for purposes of establishing probable cause for a search). Finally, the
affidavit also provided information about the CI’s reliability—a factor that we have previously
determined lends weight to the probable cause determination. See e.g., United States v. Allen, 211
F.3d 970, 976 (6th Cir. 2000) (en banc). In that regard, the attesting officer explained that (1) the
CI had provided information against his penal interest; (2) the CI’s information was found to be
credible, reliable, and accurate; and (3) police corroborated the information through a controlled
purchase of crack from Badley (which Badley does not dispute). See United States v. Howard,
632 F. App’x 795, 799 (6th Cir. 2015) (finding that the facts contained in the affidavit bolstered
informant’s veracity and that a controlled buy described in the affidavit corroborated informant’s
tip). Based on the totality of the circumstances, the issuing judge rightly concluded that there was
a nexus between Badley’s apartment and drug trafficking, and that officers possessed probable
cause to search it.
Badley, nevertheless, insists that the affidavit was inadequate on its face to create a
substantial basis for concluding that a search would uncover evidence of illegal activity.1 He faults
the affidavit for failing to disclose that Sgt. Conwell lost sight of him while en route to the location
of the controlled buy—a fact that he suggests compromised the integrity of the entire operation.
The relevant paragraph from the affidavit reads, in pertinent part, as follows:
1 Badley does not challenge the district court’s denial of his Franks hearing in this appeal.
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Affiant avers that the CI travelled to the area in the City of Cleveland while under constant surveillance by members of your affiant’s squad. Additionally, surveillance was conducted by members of your Affiant’s squad at Andre Badley’s residence at 646 Turney Road. Shortly after the offer to sell was made . . . a male identified as Andre Badley, was observed exiting the front door of 646 Turney Road. Badley was observed entering a 2011 black BMW . . . This vehicle was monitored by members of your Affiant’s squad until the time it arrived and meets with the CI.
R. 25-1, PageID 198–99. Badley contends that the affidavit’s use of the word “monitoring”
amounts to a false statement that cannot be saved by the good-faith exception set forth in United
States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (1984). Badley also asserts that the district court should have looked
only to the four corners of the document rather than also considering any police reports in denying
his motion to suppress. Badley’s arguments are without merit.
While Badley contends that the gap in surveillance undermines a finding of any nexus
between his apartment and drug-trafficking activities, his argument is not supported by Sgt.
Conwell’s supplemental investigative report on which he rests his challenge. In the report, Sgt.
Conwell stated that he took the most direct route to the controlled buy and that while he lost
continuous sight of Badley, both he and Badley arrived at the buy location at roughly the same
time. As the district court properly observed, it therefore strains logic to believe that Badley had
the time to stop at a different stash location and arrive within a minute of the tailing detective.
Moreover, beyond arguing this “possibility,” Badley offers no support for it.
And Badley’s argument that the search-warrant affidavit somehow misstates these facts
fares no better. The affidavit accurately conveyed the level of surveillance on Badley. The
affidavit stated that Badley’s vehicle was “monitored” until the time he met with the CI. (R. 25-
1, PageID 199). Unlike the language used to describe the surveillance of the CI earlier in the same
paragraph, the affidavit did not state that Badley was under “constant surveillance.” Id. at 198.
Instead, it relayed that he was monitored from his apartment to the buy location. This distinction
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is significant because it indicates that the monitoring of Badley’s vehicle was different from the
level of surveillance placed on the CI. Rather than suggesting dishonesty, it suggests an effort by
the affiant to exercise precision in his description, thereby dispelling any indication that he
intended to mislead the issuing magistrate.
With regard to Badley’s claim that the district court should have considered only the four
corners of the affidavit in ruling on his motion to suppress, we do not agree that the district court
failed to do so. The district court carefully examined the investigative report in relation to Badley’s
reliance on the report in his request for a Franks hearing. But outside of its Franks analysis, the
district court’s only other mention of the report was to demonstrate that it did not undermine the
affidavit’s establishment of a sufficient nexus—not that it somehow supported such a finding. The
court therefore found that the affidavit gave rise to a fair probability that Badley was trafficking
drugs, and that drugs or drug paraphernalia might be found inside his residence. Accordingly, the
affidavit was sufficient to establish probable cause to search Badley’s residence.
Good-Faith Exception. Even were we to conclude that the affidavit was insufficient to
establish probable cause to search Badley’s residence, suppression still would have been
unwarranted under the good-faith exception set forth in Leon. The good-faith exception is
premised on the idea that the “exclusionary rule is designed to deter police misconduct rather than
to punish the errors of judges and magistrates.” Leon, 468 U.S. at 916. The relevant question
therefore is “whether a reasonably well-trained officer would have known that the search was
illegal despite the magistrate’s authorization.” United States v. McCraven, 401 F.3d 693, 698 (6th
Cir. 2005) (quoting Leon, 468 U.S. at 922 n.23). A conclusion that the officers did not act in good
faith is appropriate under only four circumstances: (1) the issuing judge was misled by information
in the affidavit and the affiant knew the information was false; (2) the issuing judge abandoned his
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or her judicial role; (3) the warrant was so lacking in indicia of probable cause that official belief
in its existence was unreasonable; or (4) the warrant was so facially deficient that it could not be
reasonably presumed valid. United States v. Hodson, 543 F.3d 286, 292 (6th Cir. 2008); see also
Leon, 468 U.S. at 923.
Badley argues that the affidavit contained a false statement that he was monitored after
leaving his apartment until the time of the controlled buy, which renders Leon’s good-faith
exception inapplicable. But as we have explained, the statement was not false, as it accurately
detailed the officers’ level of surveillance on him. Moreover, to the extent that Badley’s argument
implicates the third prong of Leon, this too fails. A search warrant lacking in probable cause will
be upheld so long as the affidavit includes facts that draw a “plausible connection” between the
criminal activity at issue and the residence to be searched. Brown, 828 F.3d at 385–86. In other
words, an affidavit is not bare bones where the nexus between drug activity and the inside of the
residence is at least “minimally sufficient.” Reed, 993 F.3d at 450. In this case, Badley accepted
the call for the controlled buy while he was in the searched residence and left the residence shortly
after to travel directly to the buy location. Once there, Badley gave the CI crack in exchange for
money. These facts are therefore “minimally sufficient” to show a plausible connection between
the drug activity and the 646 Turney residence.
Supervised-Release Violation Sentence. When Badley requested relief under the First Step
Act, he asked the district court to release him so he could immediately begin his term of supervised
release. He also told the district court that it was required to impose an eight-year term of
supervised release—the statutory minimum. The district court’s amended judgment—consistent
with Badley’s motion—imposed that term. Badley now argues that he was not on supervised
release at the time of the instant offense because his sentence in the 1995 case was reduced to ten
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years pursuant to the First Step Act and he had already served twenty-four years, thus making all
time retroactive. Badley reasons that, based on his sentence reduction, he should have been
released from prison in 2005 and thus off of supervised release in 2013. That argument, however,
does not comport with unambiguous statutory language.
The term of supervised release “commences on the day the person is released from
imprisonment.” 18 U.S.C. § 3624(e). Further, “[a] term of supervised release does not run during
any period in which the person is imprisoned in connection with a conviction for a Federal, state,
or local crime unless the imprisonment is for a period of less than 30 consecutive days.” Id. Thus,
the plain language of the statute establishes that Badley’s eight-year term of supervised release
began when he was released from prison, on or shortly after February 15, 2019. Moreover, the
Supreme Court unanimously rejected the claim that Badley is making here—that a defendant
whose sentence was reduced to time served should have any “excess” time credited against his
supervised-release term. See United States v. Johnson, 529 U.S. 53, 59 (2000). Relying on
§ 3624(e)’s plain text, the Court held that because supervised release, unlike incarceration, is
intended to provide offenders with post-confinement assistance, it was not interchangeable with
imprisonment. Id. at 60. A term of supervised release therefore does not run concurrently with a
term of imprisonment; it runs only after imprisonment concludes. Id. at 57–58. As such, Badley’s
supervised released began when he was released from prison in 2019, and he was still legally under
supervision in March of 2021. Accordingly, we hold that the district court properly imposed a 51-
month sentence for Badley’s supervised release violation.
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IV.
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM Badley’s convictions and sentence for drug and
firearm offenses in his 2021 case and his sentence for his supervised-release violation from his
1995 case.
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