United States v. Beagle

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 24, 2021
Docket20-1099
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Beagle (United States v. Beagle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Beagle, (10th Cir. 2021).

Opinion

FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT February 24, 2021 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v. No. 20-1099 (D.C. No. 1:17-CR-00099-RBJ-1) TIMOTHY PAUL BEAGLE, (D. Colo.)

Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* _________________________________

Before MATHESON, BALDOCK, and CARSON, Circuit Judges. _________________________________

Timothy Paul Beagle appeals a term of supervised release the district court

imposed as part of a sentence for violating conditions of supervised release.

Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742, we vacate the

fifth special condition of supervised release, which requires Beagle to take prescribed

medications and submit to random blood tests to confirm medication compliance, and

* After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. we remand for consideration of whether compelling circumstances justify imposing

that special condition. We affirm in all other respects.

I. Background

Beagle was charged with eighteen violations of the conditions of a term of

supervised release he was serving on his conviction of being a felon in possession of

firearms: eleven instances of possession and use of a controlled substance; multiple

failures to report for and participate in psychiatric evaluation and individual

counseling; multiple failures to participate in substance-abuse testing as directed by

his probation officer; leaving the district without permission of the court or his

probation officer; failure to notify the probation officer within 72 hours after being

questioned or arrested by a law enforcement officer; and possession of a loaded

firearm. Notably, some of those violations occurred after the instant revocation

proceeding had commenced, while Beagle was free on bond so he could attend a

residential drug-treatment program.

Beagle admitted the violations and agreed to a 24-month period of

incarceration in exchange for the government agreeing to not prosecute him for being

a felon in possession of a firearm. In addition to imprisonment, the district court

sentenced Beagle to twelve months of supervised release and ordered standard,

mandatory, and special conditions. At the sentencing hearing, Beagle made no

objections to the sentence of supervised release.

The district court entered judgment on March 5, 2020 (Judgment). On

March 17, Beagle filed a notice of appeal stating “he intends to appeal the Judgment

2 entered on March 5, 2020.” Supp. R., Vol. I at 59. He also filed a motion to correct

his sentence pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(a), raising various

objections. On May 20, the district court denied the Rule 35(a) motion, stating only

that “[o]n the same day you filed this motion [you] filed a notice of appeal of the

sentence, which is still pending.” Id. at 62. Beagle did not file a notice of appeal

from the order denying his Rule 35(a) motion or amend the notice he filed.

II. Scope of appeal and standard of review

Before considering the merits of this appeal, we must determine its scope and

the applicable standard of review. We conclude that we have jurisdiction to review

the district court’s Judgment but not the order denying Beagle’s Rule 35(a) motion,

and because Beagle failed to make a contemporaneous objection to the district

court’s findings at sentencing, our review is for plain error.

A. Scope of appeal

Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c)(1)(B) requires a notice of appeal to

“designate the judgment, order, or part thereof appealed.” This “designation

requirement is jurisdictional.” Williams v. Akers, 837 F.3d 1075, 1078 (10th Cir.

2016). Beagle’s notice of appeal designated only the district court’s Judgment. As

noted, on the same day he filed the notice of appeal, Beagle filed his Rule 35(a)

motion. But nothing in his notice of appeal signaled in an anticipatory manner that

he intended to contest the ruling on his Rule 35(a) motion once the district court had

disposed of it. And after the district court denied Beagle’s Rule 35(a) motion, he did

not file another notice of appeal naming the Rule 35(a) order. Consequently, we lack

3 jurisdiction to review the denial of the Rule 35(a) motion. See United States v. Ortiz,

741 F.3d 288, 292 (1st Cir. 2014) (concluding, in similar circumstances, that under

Rule 3(c)(1)(B), the court lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of Rule 35(a)

relief); United States v. Cartwright, 413 F.3d 1295, 1299-1300 (11th Cir. 2005)

(same, where defendant’s notice of appeal, filed contemporaneously with his

Rule 35(a) motion, stated only that “he appealed from ‘the Final Judgment of

Sentence’”); see also United States v. Sadiq, 579 F. App’x 485, 490-91 (6th Cir.

2014) (following Ortiz); United States v. Rudzavice, 583 F. App’x 389, 389 (5th Cir.

2014) (per curiam) (concluding court lacked jurisdiction over dismissal of Rule 35(a)

motion because defendant did not file a separate notice of appeal from the dismissal

order).

Beagle argues that his appeal of the Judgment was sufficient to encompass the

later-issued Rule 35(a) order. His argument proceeds from several observations.

First, our jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 is limited to final decisions, the intent

of which is to prevent multiple appeals. Second, Federal Rule of Appellate

Procedure 4(b)(1)(A)(i) requires a criminal defendant to file a notice of appeal

“within 14 days after . . . the entry of either the judgment or the order being

appealed.” And third, filing a notice of appeal “does not divest a district court of

jurisdiction to correct a sentence under [Rule 35(a)],” “affect the validity of a notice

of appeal filed before entry of the order disposing of the motion,” or “suspend the

time for filing a notice of appeal from a judgment of conviction.” Fed. R. App. P.

4(b)(5).

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