United States v. Earlus Williams

321 F. App'x 486
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedApril 20, 2009
Docket08-4361
StatusUnpublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 321 F. App'x 486 (United States v. Earlus Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Earlus Williams, 321 F. App'x 486 (6th Cir. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

At a hearing on August 21, 2008, defendant-appellant Earlus Williams admitted that he had violated the terms of his supervised release, and the district court found him to be in violation of his supervised-release conditions. On October 8, 2008, the district court sentenced Williams to nine months of incarceration for his violations. Williams appeals his supervised-release revocation sentence on the ground that his decision to waive a revocation hearing was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary because the district court failed to explain fully the rights that Williams was waiving.

I. BACKGROUND

In April 1990, Williams was charged in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking offense. On December 17, 1990, Williams pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and to possessing a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking offense. The government dismissed the count that charged Williams with being a felon in possession of a firearm. On January 28, 1991, the district court sentenced Williams to 228 months of incarceration and three years of supervised release.

Williams was released from prison and began to serve three years of supervised release on September 16, 2006. In April 2008, Williams’s probation officers requested that a warrant be issued and alleged that Williams had violated his supervised release by failing to maintain a stable residence, failing to participate in drug/aleohol aftercare, failing to report to scheduled visits with probation officers, and failing to submit monthly supervision reports on time. A second request for supervision modification also alleged that Williams failed to participate in the Code-A-Phone testing program. In June 2008, Williams signed a modification to his supervised re *488 lease waiving a hearing and requiring him to live in a Community Corrections Center (Oriana House) for 60 days.

On June 20, 2008, Williams began his residence at Oriana House. However, a second request for a summons filed on July 15, 2008, alleged that Williams had been terminated from Oriana House on July 11, 2008, that he had tested positive for cocaine, that he had associated with an individual who was on parole, and that he failed to attend his drug/alcohol aftercare counseling sessions. This request explained that when Williams was admitted to Oriana House, he began to have chest pain and was admitted to the hospital, where he remained for ten days. Upon discharge from the hospital, Williams requested a medical bed from Oriana House. Oriana House refused to readmit Williams because they could not provide him with a medical bed and because he could not give them a medical release stating that he did not need 24-hour nursing care. At a hearing on August 21, 2008, Williams admitted to these violations and waived his light to a hearing regarding the violations. On September 19, 2008, Williams signed a document waiving his right to a hearing and agreeing to participate in a location-monitoring program for three months. On September 24, the district court issued an order requiring Williams to participate in the location-monitoring program as a condition of his supervised release.

However, at a hearing held on October 8, 2008, the district court learned that Williams had refused to participate in the location-monitoring program. The district court reviewed the history of Williams’s case, noting that Williams had committed a number of violations and that the district court had tried to resolve these violations without incarceration. The district court stated that it had tried to avoid incarcerating Williams in part because of his medical condition despite the fact that the court had never received medical documentation regarding the extent of this medical condition and its effect on Williams’s life. Williams admitted that he had refused to have the location-monitoring device attached and agreed to waive a hearing in connection with this new supervised-release violation. The district court noted that the violation was grade C and that Williams had a criminal history level of VI, so the guidelines range was 8 to 14 months of incarceration. After hearing from Williams, the district court sentenced Williams to 9 months of incarceration, with no additional supervised release.

Williams filed an untimely notice of appeal, but the district court granted his motion to extend time to file an appeal, allowing him to file his notice of appeal late. On appeal Williams makes one argument, that his decision to waive his right to a full revocation hearing was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, because the district court failed to inform Williams sufficiently at the hearing on August 21, 2008, of the rights that he was waiving.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Standard of Review

When a district court revokes an individual’s supervised release, we review that decision for abuse of discretion, its fact findings for clear error, and its legal conclusions de novo. United States v. Kontrol, 554 F.3d 1089, 1091-92 (6th Cir.2009). We review de novo the district court’s conclusion regarding the mixed question of law and fact whether a waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. See United States v. Stover, 474 F.3d 904, 908 (6th Cir.2007); Lott v. Coyle, 261 F.3d 594, 610 (6th Cir.2001). Neither Williams nor his counsel made a contemporaneous objection raising the issues discussed here. However, because we conclude that Williams is *489 not entitled to relief under any standard of review, we need not decide whether plain-error review applies.

B. Waiver of Revocation Hearing

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.1 provides the procedures that a court must follow when it is revoking or modifying a defendant’s term of supervised release. This rule states that at an individual’s first appearance related to a supervised-release violation, the judge must tell the individual what the alleged violation is, that the individual has a right to counsel, and that the individual has a right to a preliminary hearing if he or she is being held in custody. Fed.R.Crim.P. 32.1(a)(3). Rule 32.1 further provides that unless the individual chooses to waive a revocation hearing, such a hearing must be held within a reasonable time. Fed.R.Crim.P. 32.1(b)(2). This hearing must include written notice of the violation; disclosure of evidence against the individual; the opportunity to appear, present evidence, and question witnesses; notice of the right to counsel, and an opportunity to make a statement and present mitigating evidence. Fed. R.Crim.P.

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Bluebook (online)
321 F. App'x 486, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-earlus-williams-ca6-2009.