United States v. Sumuel

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-7240
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
TERRENCE DARNELL SUMUEL,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Leonie M. Brinkema, District
Judge. (CR-02-509)
Submitted: November 18, 2004 Decided: November 30, 2004
Before LUTTIG and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Terrence Darnell Sumuel, Appellant Pro Se. Sonya LaGene Sacks,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Alexandria, Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Terrence Darnell Sumuel appeals the district court’s
denial of his motion for departure under 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(b)
(West 2000 & Supp. 2004), U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual 5K1.1,
and Fed. R. Crim. P. 35(b). The district court properly concluded
that, pursuant to the plea agreement and under Rule 35(b), the
decision to move for reduction of sentence is solely in the
discretion of the Government. The district court was without
authority to compel such a motion unless the Government’s failure
to file resulted from an unconstitutional motive or was not
rationally related to a legitimate government goal. United
States v. Butler, 272 F.3d 683, 686 (4th Cir. 2001). Therefore, we
affirm the decision of the district court denying Sumuel’s motion.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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