Tellis: Career offender not eligible for Amendment 750 reduction

In U.S. v. Tellis, No. 12-12596 (April 18, 2014), the Court affirmed the denial of a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) for a defendant serving an 188-month sentence for conspiracy to sell crack cocaine. The Court found that the PSR at Tellis’ original sentencing stated that Tellis was a career offender. The Court noted that while Tellis’ sentence was previously reduced pursuant to Guideline Amendment 706, because it was in effect based on his drug quantity level, the more recent Guideline Amendment, Amendment 750, did not apply because Tellis’ career offender guideline range was now higher than his drug offense level. The Court reaffirmed prior Circuit precedent which rejected the argument that the Supreme Court’s decision in Freeman had abrogated the rule that career offenders are not eligible for retroactive reductions to the crack cocaine guidelines.