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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
THOMAS M. THOMPSON,
Defendant-Appellant.


No. 06-6233

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville.
No. 05-00140—Robert L. Echols, District Judge.
Submitted: October 26, 2007
Decided and Filed: February 11, 2008
Before: MERRITT, ROGERS, and McKEAGUE, Circuit Judges.

_________________________
OPINION
_________________________

McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. A grand jury indicted Thomas M. Thompson and six codefendants of various federal offenses related to a drug transaction that turned into an armed robbery. Thompson pleaded guilty to three criminal counts. He received 360 months of imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also received a mandatory consecutive sentence of ten years’ imprisonment for the discharge of a firearm in connection with a drug transaction.

On appeal, Thompson raises several claims of error. He contends that the district court erred when it enhanced his sentencing range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (the “Guidelines” or “U.S.S.G.”) for assault on an official victim and for holding a leadership role in the crime. He also argues that the district court engaged in impermissible double-counting when it used the same criminal activity to both enhance his Guidelines range and sentence him to the ten-year mandatory sentence. Finally, he argues that he should have received only a five-year sentence for carrying and possessing a firearm during a drug transaction, rather than the ten-year sentence for discharging a firearm.

For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand to the district court for the limited purpose of resentencing Thompson under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A).


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In re: SHARRENE WELLS,
Debtor(s).
______________________________________
MARCIA R. MEOLI, TRUSTEE,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
MBNA AMERICA BANK, N.A.,
Defendant-Appellant.


No. 07-8021

Appeal from the United States Bankruptcy Court
for the Western District of Michigan.
Bankruptcy Case No. 05-18783; Adversary Proceeding No. 06-80634.
Argued: November 13, 2007
Decided and Filed: February 11, 2008
Before: AUG, SCOTT, and WHIPPLE, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Judges.

_________________________
OPINION
_________________________

MARY ANN WHIPPLE, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Judge. MBNA America Bank, N.A., (“MBNA”) appeals the bankruptcy court’s order granting the Chapter 7 Trustee (“the Trustee”) summary judgment on her preference claim under 11 U.S.C. § 547(b). The bankruptcy court held that use by the debtor (“Debtor”) in the underlying Chapter 7 case of credit on a credit card account to reduce the balance owed on a second credit card account with MBNA was a transfer of an interest of the debtor in property that constitutes a preferential transfer. The bankruptcy court rejected MBNA’s argument that there had been no transfer of an interest of Debtor in property due to one or more of the following circumstances: the balance transfer was accomplished directly from one credit card company to another, the earmarking doctrine applied, or there was no diminution of the estate. For the reasons that follow, the bankruptcy court’s decision is AFFIRMED.