United States v. Douglas Law

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: April 15, 2024
• Docket: 23-4095
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 23-4095 Doc: 28 Filed: 04/15/2024 Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 23-4095

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

DOUGLAS OWEN LAW,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Clarksburg. Thomas S. Kleeh, Chief District Judge. (1:22-cr-00033-TSK-MJA-1)

Submitted: April 11, 2024 Decided: April 15, 2024

Before AGEE and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: Katy J. Cimino, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellant. Carly Cordaro Nogay, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling, West Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 23-4095 Doc: 28 Filed: 04/15/2024 Pg: 2 of 3

PER CURIAM:

Douglas Owen Law pled guilty to sex tourism, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c).

The district court sentenced Law to 136 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Law’s counsel

has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), conceding that there

are no meritorious issues for appeal but questioning whether Law’s guilty plea was

knowing and voluntary. Although notified of his right to do so, Law has not filed a pro se

supplemental brief. We affirm the district court’s judgment.

Before accepting a guilty plea, the district court must conduct a plea colloquy during

which it must inform the defendant of, and determine that the defendant understands, the

rights he is relinquishing by pleading guilty, the charges to which he is pleading, and the

maximum and mandatory minimum penalties he faces. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(1). The

district court also must ensure that the plea is voluntary and not the result of threats, force,

or promises not contained in the plea agreement, Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(2), and that a

factual basis supports the plea, Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(3).

Because Law did not seek to withdraw his guilty plea, we review the adequacy of

the Rule 11 hearing for plain error. United States v. Williams, 811 F.3d 621, 622 (4th Cir.

2016). “Under the plain error standard, [we] will correct an unpreserved error if (1) an

error was made; (2) the error is plain; (3) the error affects substantial rights; and (4) the

error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.”

United States v. Harris, 890 F.3d 480, 491 (4th Cir. 2018) (internal quotation marks

omitted). The record demonstrates that the magistrate judge conducted a thorough plea

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colloquy, fully complying with Rule 11, and ensured that Law’s plea was knowing and

voluntary. We therefore affirm Law’s conviction.

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

found no meritorious issues for review. We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.

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

Court of the United States for further review. If Law 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 Law.

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