United States v. Caleb Rowell

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: June 27, 2024
• Docket: 23-4641
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

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UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 23-4641

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

CALEB YORK ROWELL,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia. Sherri A. Lydon, District Judge. (3:22-cr-00799-SAL-1)

Submitted: June 25, 2024 Decided: June 27, 2024

Before RICHARDSON and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed in part, dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: Elizabeth A. Franklin-Best, ELIZABETH FRANKLIN-BEST, P.C., Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. Stacey Denise Haynes, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.

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PER CURIAM:

Caleb York Rowell pled guilty, pursuant to a written plea agreement, to conspiracy

to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl, heroin, and

methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 846;

possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); possession with

intent to distribute and distribution of heroin and fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C.

§§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C); possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl,

in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C); and possession of an unregistered

short barreled shotgun, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861(d), and 5871. The district

court sentenced Rowell to 292 months’ imprisonment followed by six years of supervised

release. Rowell now appeals. On appeal, counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v.

California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), stating that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal

but questioning whether Rowell’s guilty plea was valid and whether his sentence was both

procedurally and substantively reasonable. In his pro se supplemental brief, Rowell raises

several challenges to his sentence and argues that counsel was ineffective for failing to

request a mental evaluation or review discovery with him. The Government has moved to

dismiss Rowell’s appeal pursuant to the appellate waiver in his plea agreement.

The waiver provision in the plea agreement does not preclude our review pursuant

to Anders of the validity of the guilty plea. See United States v. McCoy, 895 F.3d 358, 364

(4th Cir. 2018). Because Rowell did not seek to withdraw his guilty plea, we review the

adequacy of the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 hearing for plain error. United States v. Williams, 811

F.3d 621, 622 (4th Cir. 2016); see United States v. Harris, 890 F.3d 480, 491 (4th Cir.

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2018) (discussing plain error standard). Our review of the record leads us to conclude that

Rowell entered his guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily, that a factual basis supported the

plea, and that his guilty plea is valid. See United States v. DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 116,

119-20 (4th Cir. 1991) (discussing district court’s obligations under Rule 11).

Next, “[w]e review an appellate waiver de novo to determine whether the waiver is

enforceable” and “will enforce the waiver if it is valid and if the issue[s] being appealed

fall[] within the scope of the waiver.” United States v. Boutcher, 998 F.3d 603, 608 (4th

Cir. 2021) (internal quotation marks omitted). An appellate waiver is valid if the defendant

enters it “knowingly and intelligently, a determination that we make by considering the

totality of the circumstances.” Id. “Generally though, if a district court questions a

defendant regarding the waiver of appellate rights during the Rule 11 colloquy and the

record indicates that the defendant understood the full significance of the waiver, the

waiver is valid.” McCoy, 895 F.3d at 362 (internal quotation marks omitted).

We have reviewed the record, including the plea agreement and the transcript of the

Rule 11 hearing, and conclude that Rowell knowingly and intelligently waived his right to

appeal his conviction and sentence. We therefore conclude that the waiver is valid and

enforceable and that the sentencing issues raised by Anders counsel and Rowell fall

squarely within the waiver’s scope.

Rowell’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims, however, are not within the scope

of the appeal waiver. To demonstrate ineffective assistance of trial counsel, Rowell “must

show that counsel’s performance was deficient” and “that the deficient performance

prejudiced the defense.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). However,

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“[u]nless an attorney’s ineffectiveness conclusively appears on the face of the record,

[ineffective assistance] claims are not addressed on direct appeal.” United States v. Faulls,

821 F.3d 502, 507-08 (4th Cir. 2016). Instead, such claims should be raised, if at all, in a

motion brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in order to permit sufficient development of

the record. United States v. Baptiste, 596 F.3d 214, 216 n.1 (4th Cir. 2010). We conclude

that ineffectiveness of counsel does not conclusively appear on the face of the record before

us.

In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have

found no potentially meritorious grounds for appeal outside the scope of Rowell’s valid

appellate waiver. We therefore grant the Government’s motion to dismiss in part and

dismiss the appeal as to all issues covered by the appeal waiver. We also deny the motion

in part and affirm the remainder of the judgment.

This court requires that counsel inform Rowell, in writing, of the right to petition

the Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If Rowell requests that a petition

be filed, but counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may

move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s motion must state

that a copy thereof was served on Rowell. We dispense with oral argument because the

facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and

argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED IN PART, DISMISSED IN PART