United States v. Letellier
United States v. Letellier
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Donald Letellier appeals the district judge’s decision not to recuse himself under 28 U.S.C. § 455 and his 188-month sentence for his convictions of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and five counts of distribution of methamphetamine.
The district court judge would be required to disqualify himself if a “reasonable person with knowledge of all of the facts would conclude that the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
Letellier argues that the district court erred by using the “pure” weight of the methamphetamine to establish his base offense level. The sentencing judge determined the pure drug weight from the Probation Office’s finding that the drugs involved in these transactions equated to 267.2 grams of pure methamphetamine. He is allowed to conduct extra-judicial fact-finding and “rely upon undisputed statements in the PSR at sentencing.”
The district court did not err in any of its Sentencing Guideline decisions. It was not clearly erroneous for the sentencing judge to deny Letellier the third point reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, because Letellier withdrew his original guilty plea and pleaded guilty more than one year later on the eve of trial after preparation had been completed.
Letellier argues that the district court erred by applying the career offender enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. Even if this were an error, it is harmless because Letellier’s base offense level is 34 and criminal history category is VI independent of the career offender enhancement.
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
. United States v. Wilkerson, 208 F.3d 794, 797 (9th Cir. 2000) (internal citations omitted).
. United States v. Ameline, 409 F.3d 1073, 1085 (9th Cir. 2005) (enbanc).
. See United States v. Chee, 110 F.3d 1489, 1495 (9th Cir. 1997).
. See United States v. Rosales-Rodriguez, 289 F.3d 1106, 1112 (9th Cir. 2002).
. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 app. n. 3. See also United States v. Restrepo, 884 F.2d 1294, 1296 (9th Cir. 1989).
. See United States v. Mendoza, 121 F.3d 510, 513-14 (9th Cir. 1997).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.