United States v. Fast Horse

MEMORANDUM *

Denise Fast Horse (“Fast Horse”) appeals from her sentence after pleading guilty to one count of Negligent Vehicular Assault under 18 U.S.C. § 1153 and Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-205 . Fast Horse argues that the district court’s upward departure from criminal history category II to category IV violated her Sixth Amendment right to counsel because the departure was based on uncounseled tribal court convictions. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742 and 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Fast Horse’s argument is wholly unsupported by the record. The district court expressly rejected Fast Horse’s implication at sentencing that it was relying on her prior tribal court convictions and clarified its basis for the departure:

Sentencing Tr. at 22 (April 12, 2002) (emphases added).

Thus, the district court clearly and expressly relied on Fast Horse’s pattern of prior criminal conduct and the likelihood that she would engage in the same conduct again. Fast Horse does not argue that a departure based on prior criminal conduct is improper. Such a departure is permissible under the Sentencing Guidelines. “If reliable information indicates that the criminal history…