Thielemann v. United States

4 F. Supp. 3d 674, 2013 WL 6506168, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174888
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedDecember 12, 2013
DocketCrim. No. 07-91-SLR; Civ. No. 10-1138-SLR
StatusPublished

This text of 4 F. Supp. 3d 674 (Thielemann v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thielemann v. United States, 4 F. Supp. 3d 674, 2013 WL 6506168, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174888 (D. Del. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBINSON, District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Paul R. Thielemann (“movant”) is a federal inmate currently confined at the Pe-tersburg Low Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg, Virginia. Movant [678]*678timely filed a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. (D.I.108) The government filed an answer in opposition (D.I.133), to which movant filed a response (D.I.140). For the reasons discussed, the court will deny mov-ant’s § 2255 motion without holding an evidentiary hearing.

II. BACKGROUND

In June 2007, the Grand Jury for the District of Delaware returned an eighteen count indictment against movant charging him with; production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); conspiracy to produce child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251; four counts of receipt of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2); five counts of distribution of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(l); possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B); five counts of receipt/transmission of obscenity depicting children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1446(a)(2)(A) and (B); and possession of obscenity depicting children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(2)(A) and (B). On January 18, 2008, movant waived indictment and entered a guilty plea to a one count information charging him with receipt of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2), punishable by a maximum twenty year sentence with a five year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment, followed by supervised release of up to a life term.

The court sentenced movant to the statutory maximum of two hundred forty months of imprisonment. Movant appealed, alleging that the district court erred in denying his amended motion to suppress and in denying his Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed mov-ant’s conviction and sentence. United States v. Thielemann, 575 F.3d 265 (3d Cir.2009).

III. DISCUSSION

Movant timely filed his motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 asserting two grounds for relief. Claim one asserts that defense counsel provided ineffective assistance by; (a) inaccurately advising movant about the applicability of the U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(c) cross-reference; (b) incorrectly advising movant about the definition for the term “visual depiction” and permitting movant to plead guilty when he only watched live video stream on his computer without actually storing any images; (c) failing to argue on direct appeal that the government breached the terms of the plea agreement by not presenting a verbal argument regarding the applicability of the U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(e) cross-reference; (d) intentionally misleading movant into believing the second written plea offer was better than the first written plea offer; (e) failing to persuasively argue at sentencing and on appeal that movant did not have the proper “purpose” for the cross-reference to apply; (f) failing to review the full discovery; (g) permitting the court to improperly involve itself in the plea proceedings; and (h) committing multiple errors. In claim two, movant asserts that the court violated his due process rights during sentencing by improperly considering out-of-court testimony and by making improper credibility determinations.

Movant also filed a “Supplemental Opening Brief’ asserting three additional arguments (hereinafter referred to as claims three, four, and five). Claim three asserts that movant’s plea was unknowing and involuntary because he did not possess a factual understanding of the elements of the offense “receipt of child pornography,” [679]*679the court did not explain which “element” of the cross-reference applied, and counsel did not inform movant that his admissions in paragraph one of the plea agreement relating to the receipt of child pornography charge constituted an admission of guilt to the cross-reference itself. In claim four, movant contends that this court and Third Circuit erred by applying the cross-reference without first determining if there was sufficient evidence to apply the cross-reference. And finally, claim five alleges that movant’s sentence is unreasonable because the U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2 cross-reference is flawed.

A. Claim One: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Movant has properly raised his ineffective assistance of counsel allegations in the instant § 2255 motion rather than on direct appeal,1 and the court must review these arguments pursuant to the two-pronged standard set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Under the first Strickland prong, movant must demonstrate that “counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness,” with reasonableness being judged under professional norms prevailing at the time counsel rendered assistance. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Under the second Strickland prong, mov-ant must demonstrate “there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s error the result would have been different.” Id. at 687-96, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In the context of a guilty plea, a petitioner satisfies Strickland’s prejudice prong by demonstrating that, but for counsel’s error, there is a reasonable probability that he would have insisted on proceeding to trial instead of pleading guilty. See Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 58, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985). Additionally, in order to sustain an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, movant must make concrete allegations of actual prejudice and substantiate them or risk summary dismissal. See Wells v. Petsock, 941 F.2d 253, 259-60 (3d Cir.1991); Dooley v. Petsock, 816 F.2d 885, 891-92 (3d Cir.1987). Although not insurmountable, the Strickland standard is highly demanding and leads to a “strong presumption that the representation was professionally reasonable.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

1.

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Bluebook (online)
4 F. Supp. 3d 674, 2013 WL 6506168, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174888, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thielemann-v-united-states-ded-2013.