U.S. v. Tolson, CRIM 03-0262RCL.
| Citation | 372 F.Supp.2d 1 |
| Decision Date | 02 March 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. CRIM 03-0262RCL.,CRIM 03-0262RCL. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, v. Carol B. TOLSON, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
This matter comes before the Court on defendant Carol Tolson's motion to withdraw the guilty plea that she entered in this case on June 30, 2003. Upon consideration of the defendant's motion, the opposition thereto, the reply, the applicable law, and the entire record herein, the Court finds that the defendant's motion will be denied. The Court's reasoning is set forth below.
On June 23, 2003, Carol Tolson ("Tolson") was charged in this Court in a two-count felony information. Count one charged Tolson with possession with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of cocaine base, and aiding and abetting the same, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A)(iii); and 18 U.S.C. § 2. In count two, Tolson was charged with using, carrying and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, and aiding and abetting the same, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 924(c)(1)(A)(i). Count 1 carries a statutory minimum sentence of ten years in prison; and Count 2 carries a statutory minimum sentence of five years in prison to run consecutively to any other sentence.
At a hearing held by the Court on June 30, 2003, Tolson, represented by retained counsel Archie M. Nichols, waived indictment and entered a plea of guilty to both counts of the information. At that hearing, Tolson presented to the Court a plea agreement and recital of the government's factual proffer, both of which bear her signature. The Court then conducted a standard plea colloquy pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 to ensure that Tolson understood the terms of the plea agreement, was entering her plea knowingly and voluntarily, was satisfied with her attorney's representation of her, and was aware of the rights she was waiving by pleading guilty. See Tr. (Plea, June 30, 2003), at 3-5. One element of the plea agreement entered into between Tolson and the government was the provision that Tolson might cooperate with the government in the hope of obtaining a downward departure for substantial assistance from the Court at the time of sentencing.
In addition, the Court reviewed the information, the plea agreement, and the government's factual proffer with Tolson to verify that she had read and understood those documents; and the Court ensured that Tolson was aware of the range of possible sentences that the Court might impose as a result of her guilty plea. See id. at 5-10. Specifically, the Court inquired whether "anyone [had] made any prediction or promise as to what sentence" the Court would impose, to which Tolson answered the negative. Id. at 9. Tolson then admitted that she was guilty of the conduct described in the government's factual proffer, and thus of the offenses charged in the information. See id. at 9-10. At the conclusion of the plea hearing, the Court released Tolson on a personal recognizance ("P.R.") bond and scheduled a status conference for September 26, 2003.
At the September 26 Status Conference, the Court granted the government's motion to revoke Tolson's P.R. bond and, upon the advice of the Pretrial Services Agency, ordered that Tolson undergo drug detoxification and treatment at a residential facility. Pretrial Services recommended drug detoxification because Tolson failed to maintain regular contact with the Pretrial Services Agency and tested positive more than once for cocaine between June 30, 2003 and September 26, 2003, both of which constituted violations of the conditions of Tolson's release.
Also on September 26, Tolson filed a letter with the Court in which she complained that her attorney, Mr. Nichols, had "verbally threatened [Tolson] with words of discouragement with such comments as `you are not going to make it out of this.'" Def.'s Mot. to Withdraw Guilty Plea ("Def.'s Mot."), Ex. A, Letter from Carol Tolson to Judge Royce C. Lamberth (Sept. 17, 2003). Tolson also opined in her letter to the Court that Mr. Nichols "seem[ed] more interested in the financial investment/outcome than in defending me." Id. Along with her typed letter, Tolson submitted a handwritten note to the Court in which she explained that Mr. Nichols was causing her to experience stress and fear. See Def.'s Mot., Ex. B, Note from Carol Tolson to the Court (submitted Sept. 26, 2003). In both documents submitted to the Court, Tolson requested that the Court appoint her new counsel.
After Tolson completed the detoxification and treatment ordered by the Court the previous month, the Court held another Status Conference on October 24, 2003, at which time the Court placed Tolson in the Pretrial Service Agency's "New Horizons" program for long-term drug rehabilitation. Subsequently, later in October 2003, attorney Nichols filed a motion to withdraw as Tolson's counsel, citing irreconcilable differences with his client. The Court held an ascertainment of counsel hearing on December 12, 2003, at which the Court asked Tolson whether she was satisfied with Mr. Nichols' representation. She replied that she was "okay with him," Tr. (Status Conference, Dec. 12, 2003), at 3, and the Court thus found it appropriate to "leave [Nichols] in place" until the next Status Conference, set for January 16, 2004. Id. at 4.
At the January 16 Status Conference, the government requested additional time to obtain Tolson's cooperation following her drug rehabilitation program, which program was to be completed within 30 days. The Court granted the government's request and, in order to allow sufficient time for the government to complete its debriefing with Tolson, scheduled a Status Conference for March 12, 2004. Subsequently, the March 12 Status Conference was reset to March 19, at which time the defendant failed to appear. At a Status Conference on March 23, where Mr. Nichols was unable to produce Tolson, the Court issued a bench warrant that resulted in Tolson's arrest on March 30, 2004. That day, the Court conducted yet another Status Conference. Apparently, Mr. Nichols did not receive timely notice of the March 30 hearing, and his failure to appear at that time prompted the Court to grant Nichols' earlier motion to withdraw and appoint the office of the Federal Public Defender to represent Tolson going forward. The Court also revoked Tolson's bond and scheduled the matter for sentencing. On May 12, 2004, more than ten months after the guilty plea was entered in this case, Tolson's new counsel filed the present motion to withdraw Tolson's guilty plea.
The motion advances a single argument in favor of allowing withdrawal of the guilty plea — that attorney Nichols was burdened by a conflict of interest during the plea negotiations, resulting in his rendering Tolson ineffective assistance in determining whether to enter the guilty plea. Nichols' fee, Tolson contends, was paid by Freddie Jacobs, the same person that Tolson would have to implicate in order to prove her innocence at trial. Thus, on this argument, Nichols had a financial stake in Freddie Jacobs' not being implicated in the crimes with which Tolson was charged. Tolson argues that as a result of this conflict of interest, attorney Nichols: (1) failed to adequately explore Tolson's possible defenses during their conversations prior to her acceptance of the plea agreement; (2) encouraged Tolson to plead guilty by promising that she would be immediately released from prison and that she would be sentenced only to probation if she entered a guilty plea; and (3) discouraged Tolson from going to trial with statements such as "you are not going to make it out of this." Tolson requests that the Court hold an evidentiary hearing on her ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
While an ineffective assistance of counsel claim will often provide sufficient grounds for withdrawal of a guilty plea withdrawal is not an "automatic right" of the criminal defendant prior to sentencing. See United States v. Barker, 514 F.2d 208, 218 (D.C.Cir.1975). In order to succeed on this type of motion, the proponent must satisfy the Court that the attorney conduct alleged to be deficient so corrupted the proceedings during which the guilty plea was taken as to render those proceedings either inadequate under the requirements of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 or otherwise constitutionally suspect. Here, Tolson has not made such a showing, and thus the Court concludes that her motion must be denied.
Tolson brings her motion to withdraw her guilty plea pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(d) which provides, in pertinent part, that "[a] defendant may withdraw a plea of guilty ... after the court accepts the plea, but before it imposes sentence if: ... the defendant can show a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal." FED. R. CRIM. P. 11(d) (2004). "Permission to withdraw [a guilty plea prior to sentencing] rests in the sound discretion of the trial court." United States v. Horne, 987 F.2d 833, 837 (quoting United States v. Davis, 617 F.2d 677, 685 (D.C.Cir.1979)). For this reason, "[r]eversal of a district court's denial of a motion to withdraw a plea ... is uncommon," id. (quoting United States v. Loughery, 908 F.2d 1014, 1017 (D.C.Cir.1990)); and a district court's disposition of such a motion is reviewed for abuse of discretion only. See United States v. Weaks, 388 F.3d 913, 915 (D.C.Cir.2004).
Generally, "when a defendant seeks to withdraw a guilty plea on the basis of ineffective assistance of ... counsel the district court should hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the merits of the defendant's claims." United States v. Taylor, 139 F.3d 924, 932 (D.C.Cir.1998). This is because most ineffective...
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