U.S. v. Rojas, 89-3236
| Decision Date | 29 March 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-3236,89-3236 |
| Citation | 898 F.2d 40 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lazaro F. ROJAS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Bruce C. Ashley, II, New Orleans, La., for defendant-appellant.
Lazaro F. Rojas, New Orleans, La., pro se.
Robert J. Boitmann, John O. Braud, Asst. U.S. Attys., John P. Volz, U.S. Atty., Constantine Georges, Asst. U.S. Atty., New Orleans, La., for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before BROWN, JOLLY and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
Lazaro F. Rojas pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and one count of distribution of cocaine and now appeals his conviction, claiming that his plea was not knowing and voluntary. Rojas further contends that the Federal Magistrates Act did not authorize referral of his case to a magistrate for a hearing and recommendation as to whether his plea was knowing and voluntary, and that adoption of this recommendation by the district court was an abuse of discretion. We disagree with both these contentions and affirm the conviction.
Rojas was arrested delivering 20 ounces of cocaine to an undercover DEA agent. He initially pled not guilty, but after several months of unsuccessful pretrial motions, he entered a plea arrangement with the government and, on the morning of trial, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of distribution. At the sentencing hearing, to the surprise of his counsel, Rojas asked to withdraw his guilty plea. Rojas claimed innocence, accused his attorney of threatening him with a long sentence if he went to trial and explained that he had only pled guilty because his attorney was providing him no defense. The district judge then put Rojas' attorney under oath and asked him about Rojas' assertions. The lawyer disputed Rojas' claims and recounted his own vigorous efforts on Rojas' behalf. The judge agreed that he strongly questioned Rojas' veracity, based on his previous admissions of guilt both to the court and to the probation officer, which resulted in a reduction in his potential sentence. The judge refused to permit Rojas to withdraw his plea.
When the judge next asked if Rojas had anything to say in mitigation of his punishment, Rojas made additional protests. He claimed that he had not seen the PSI, that he had not had certain interviews with probation officers and that he had not met with his attorney to discuss these issues. Concluding that Rojas either was lying then or had lied before, the judge then halted the proceedings and referred Rojas' case to a magistrate for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Rojas' guilty plea had been knowing and voluntary.
The magistrate concluded that Rojas' attorney had provided him a vigorous defense but that Rojas could offer his attorney little help by way of identifying evidence and alibi witnesses to support his claim of innocence. She also found Rojas' claim that there was no cocaine in his house "totally incredible," based on evidence from the suppression hearing that cocaine was spread throughout the premises. Concluding that "nothing has been introduced at this hearing which would indicate, as Rojas claims, that he has any type of valid defenses to the charges against him," and that the government's case against him was overwhelming, she recommended that his motion to withdraw be denied as his earlier plea was knowing and voluntary. The district judge adopted this recommendation and then sentenced Rojas to 121 months incarceration on each of two counts.
On appeal, Rojas makes two contentions. First, he argues that referral of his case to a magistrate was not authorized by the federal statute empowering magistrates to hear certain matters. Second, he maintains that even if the referral was authorized, the district court abused its discretion by not allowing him to withdraw his guilty plea. We conclude that referral of the matter to a magistrate was authorized and that denying Rojas permission to withdraw his guilty plea was not an abuse of discretion.
The jurisdiction and powers of federal magistrates are set forth in 28 U.S.C. 636. After subsection (a), which sets out general areas of authority for magistrates, subsection (b) states:
(b)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary--
(A) a judge may designate a magistrate to hear and determine any pretrial matter pending before the court, except a motion for injunctive relief, for judgment on the pleadings, for summary judgment, to dismiss or quash an indictment or information made by the defendant, to suppress evidence in a criminal case, to dismiss or to permit maintenance of a class action, to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and to involuntarily dismiss an action. A judge may reconsider any pretrial matter under this subparagraph (A) where it has been shown that the magistrate's order is clearly erroneous or contrary to law.
(B) a judge may also designate a magistrate to conduct hearings, including evidentiary hearings, and to submit to a judge of the court proposed findings of fact and recommendations for the disposition, by a judge of the court, of any motion excepted in subparagraph (A), of applications for posttrial relief made by individuals convicted of criminal offenses and of prisoner petitions challenging conditions of confinement.
28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1) (emphasis supplied).
Even if we read subsections (b)(1)(A) and (b)(1)(B) together in the narrowest sense, as Rojas would have us do, it is clear that the referral of this matter to a magistrate was authorized by the statute. Subsection (b)(1)(A) authorizes magistrates to "hear and determine any pretrial matter" except certain specified matters, none of which include the voluntariness of a plea. Even these specified matters may be referred to a magistrate for "findings of fact and recommendations" under (b)(1)(B) for final disposition by a judge.
The...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
U.S.A v. Underwood
... ... pre-trial hearings on the voluntariness of ... pleas, which, under United States v. Rojas, ... 898 F.2d 40 (5th Cir.1990), are specifically ... authorized under 636(b)(1). Dees, 125 ... statute, or indeed, in the legislative history, persuades us that Congress did not ... intend the additional duties clause ... [ 636(b)(3)] to embrace this ... ...
-
U.S. v. Osborne
...factors that the Second Circuit had detailed in Williams, the Fifth Circuit looked to one of its earlier decisions, United States v. Rojas, 898 F.2d 40, 42 (5th Cir.1990), in which it had held that the Act, pursuant to § 636(b)(1), authorizes a magistrate judge to conduct an evidentiary hea......
-
U.S. v. Bounds
...We review only for an abuse of discretion the district court's denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea. See United States v. Rojas, 898 F.2d 40, 43 (5th Cir.1990); United States v. Hurtado, 846 F.2d 995, 997 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, Aguas v. United States, 488 U.S. 863, 109 S.Ct. 163,......
-
U.S. v. Dees
...has not previously addressed the precise issue of a magistrate judge's statutory power to take a guilty plea. In United States v. Rojas, 898 F.2d 40 (5th Cir.1990), however, we considered a closely analogous situation. On the morning of his trial, Rojas pled guilty to the district court on ......
-
A change of heart or a change of law? Withdrawing a guilty plea under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(e).
...("The plea of guilty is a solemn act not to be disregarded because of belated misgivings about [its] wisdom."); United States v. Rojas, 898 F.2d 40, 43 (8th Cir. 1990) (rejecting a motion where the defendant made unsupported statements of innocence and "overwhelming evidence" existed agains......