U.S. v. Valdez
| Citation | 362 F.3d 903 |
| Decision Date | 02 April 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-3043.,02-3043. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Julio VALDEZ, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit) |
Jeffrey P. Singdahlsen (argued), United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Louis M. Fischer (briefed), for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Matthew M. Robinson (argued and briefed), Cincinnati, OH, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before: SUHRHEINRICH, CLAY, and SUTTON, Circuit Judges.
After pleading guilty prior to trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to one count of conspiring to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846, Julio Valdez moved to withdraw his plea on the ground that he did not understand the quantity of drugs which he had admitted possessing. The district court denied that motion and sentenced Valdez to 192 months' imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. Because Valdez's guilty plea was voluntary and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion to withdraw the plea, we AFFIRM his conviction and sentence. We refuse to entertain Valdez's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel as unripe for review.
On September 5, 2000, a grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Ohio returned a multi-count indictment against numerous Defendants, including Defendant Julio Valdez. The grand jury charged Valdez with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846 (Count 1); knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute approximately 80.79 grams of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count 15); and knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute approximately 12.12 grams of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count 16). Count 1 of the indictment did not ascribe a specific amount of cocaine or cocaine base to Valdez, although it described a drug conspiracy masterminded by David Trinidad Gonzalez, who allegedly had obtained over 500 kilograms of cocaine and over 10 kilograms of cocaine base. The indictment explained that Gonzalez distributed those drugs through many of his family members, relatives and associates, including Defendant Valdez and ten others.
In August 2001, Valdez agreed via a written plea agreement to plead guilty to the conspiracy count (Count 1), in exchange for the government's agreement to drop Counts 15 and 16 and not to oppose a three-point reduction in the applicable sentencing guideline offense level for Valdez's acceptance of responsibility. The agreement stated, in part:
By signing this agreement, the defendant admits 1) that the conspiracy in Count 1 of the indictment existed, and that he knowingly and voluntarily joined the conspiracy, and that the purpose of the conspiracy in Count One was to knowingly and intentionally distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, cocaine.
* * *
The government and the defendant agree and stipulate to the following statement of facts and applicable sentencing guideline factors:
1. That the defendant conspired to possess with intent to distribute at least 50 but less than 150 kilograms of cocaine (Base Offense Level 36).
(J.A. 102, ¶¶ 3, 7.) The agreement further noted that Valdez had read the plea agreement, that he had an opportunity to discuss it with his attorney, that he fully understood the agreement and that he was signing the agreement voluntarily.
On August 30, 2001, the district court conducted Valdez's plea proceedings pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The court noted the terms of the plea agreement and also that "the parties have stipulated that the defendant conspired to possess with intent to distribute at least 50 kilograms but not less than 150 kilograms of cocaine, that being a base level of 36." (Tr. at 3.)1 During the court's colloquy to determine Valdez's competence to withdraw his guilty plea, Valdez informed the court that he had attended up to the eighth grade in school and could read and write English. He also told the court that he was in good physical health and had not taken any medication in the last two days that would impair his ability to understand what was happening around him. After the court found Valdez competent, Valdez told the court that he was satisfied with his attorney's efforts and advice up to that point in time and that he had read the indictment and discussed it with his attorney. Valdez's attorney stated that he had no doubt that Valdez completely understood the charges against him. Among other things, the court told Valdez that by entering a guilty plea, he would be admitting his guilt and waiving certain rights, including the right to have the government "prove you guilty by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt." (Tr. at 14.) Valdez stated that he understood the rights he would be foregoing.
The court again asked Valdez whether he had read the plea agreement and gone over it with his attorney, to which Valdez responded affirmatively. The court then had the following exchange with Valdez:
THE COURT: In paragraph No. 7 [], it reads: The government and the defendant agree and stipulate to the following statement of facts and applicable guideline sentencing factors:
One, that the defendant conspired to possess with intent to distribute at least 50 but less than 150 kilograms of cocaine[,] base offense level 36. Do you understand that?
(Tr. at 17.) The court then told Valdez that it could not determine his sentencing guideline range with certainty, but that it expected to impose a sentence between 135 and 181 months, depending upon Valdez's criminal history. The court accepted the plea agreement and confirmed that Valdez had not been threatened or induced to plead guilty and had agreed to plead guilty after consultation with his attorney and family.
After accepting the plea agreement, the court asked the prosecutor to articulate the factual underpinning for Valdez's plea. The prosecutor stated, in relevant part:
With regard to Julio Valdez, the evidence will show that he ... joined the conspiracy in question and he was ... given and sold to him amounts of cocaine as set forth in the factual stipulation, 50 to 150 kilograms and that he received this cocaine from Mr. David Gonzalez and from other couriers who transported it to him in Adrian and Ohio and in Marion, Ohio. Mr. Valdez then resold the cocaine that he received in Adrian, Michigan, and in Marion, Ohio, and also had a set of or a group of persons that he sold to including Doug Ackerman and other persons named and unnamed in the indictment in question.
And the evidence would further show that ... defendant[] knowingly and voluntarily joined the conspiracy knowing full well its objects and its purpose.
(Tr. at 22.) In response to the court's inquiries, Valdez stated that he had heard the prosecutor's statement and that he neither had any disagreement with it nor wished to add anything to it. Valdez then formally pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, which the court accepted. A presentence investigation was ordered.
On November 13, 2001, Valdez filed a motion to vacate his plea, claiming that he did not fully understand the crime to which he had pleaded guilty. In a handwritten affidavit, Valdez explained that he did not appreciate the distinction between "grams" of cocaine and the "kilograms" of cocaine referenced in his plea agreement and at the plea proceedings. On December 10, 2001, the court denied Valdez's motion to vacate his plea, reasoning that Valdez had not offered an explanation for the 75 days that had elapsed between Valdez's plea and his motion to withdraw. The court further noted that the circumstances surrounding the plea did not weigh in favor of a withdrawal because, inter alia, Valdez had stated at the plea hearing that he reads and writes English, that he had read and understood the indictment and that he had discussed the indictment with his attorney. Last, the court noted the "distinct possibility of substantial prejudice to the Government" if a withdrawal were allowed because "the recollections of witnesses may not be as fresh now" and because "substantial time and money would need to be spent in preparation for and execution of a trial."
Valdez's sentencing hearing took place on December 21, 2001. Valdez repeated his claim that he did not understand that he had pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute kilogram (as opposed to gram) amounts of cocaine. The court rejected this argument, having already rejected his motion to withdraw his plea. The court then went over Valdez's presentence report which had indicated a base offense level of 36 and a criminal history category of 6, which put him in the guideline range of 235 to 293 months. The court reduced Valdez's criminal history category to 4 after accepting Valdez's argument that most of his criminal history pertained to driving offenses. The court also reduced Valdez's base offense level by 3 levels for his acceptance of responsibility, reducing the sentencing range to 188 to 235 months. The court then sentenced Valdez to 192 months of imprisonment followed by a term of five years' supervised release. This appeal ensued.
This Court may hear a direct appeal to a plea proceeding conducted pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. United States v. Van Buren, 804 F.2d 888, 890 (6th Cir.1986). Because Valdez attempted to withdraw his plea in the district court on the basis that it was not voluntary, the harmless error standard...
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