United States v. Hill

358 F. App'x 325
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedDecember 22, 2009
DocketNo. 09-1907
StatusPublished

This text of 358 F. App'x 325 (United States v. Hill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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. Hill, 358 F. App'x 325 (3d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judge.

Appellant-defendant Michael Hill’s Counsel has filed a motion to withdraw pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). The United States has filed a brief in support of Counsel’s motion. Although Counsel’s Anders brief is slightly insufficient, because this Court is satisfied there are no non-frivolous issues for direct appeal, we will grant Counsel’s motion to withdraw and dismiss the appeal.

I.

Because we write solely for the parties, we will address only those facts necessary to our opinion.

On December 25, 2005, Hill escaped from the Federal Correctional Complex in Loretto, Pennsylvania where he was serving a 234 month sentence for a drug conspiracy involving cocaine base. Hill was designated to a federal prison camp at Loretto, which is a minimum security camp with no perimeter fencing.

After Hill was captured in March 2008, he pled guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 751(a), which makes it a crime to escape from government custody. In the Presentence Report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office, Hill’s offense was calculated at a base level of 13, with a two-point downward adjustment because he accepted responsibility. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3El.l(a) (2008). The advisory guideline range for Hill’s conduct, in light of his criminal history category of Level III, was twelve to eighteen months. Prior to sentencing, Hill’s counsel filed a Motion for Concurrent Term of Imprisonment, which was denied. On March 23, 2009, a trial court sentenced Hill to a term of twelve-months imprisonment, to run consecutively to Hill’s undischarged term of imprisonment, and three-years supervised release to run concurrently with Hill’s other supervised release term. This sentence was at the low end of the advisory guideline range of twelve to eighteen months.

[327]*327II.

The District Court had subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231. This Court has appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a). This Court exercises plenary review over an Ayiders motion. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82-33 n. 6, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988).

Our inquiry under Anders is twofold. First, we must consider whether counsel adequately fulfilled its obligations under Third Circuit Local Appellate Rule 109.2(a). United States v. Youla, 241 F.3d 296, 300 (3d Cir.2001). Regarding this issue, counsel must satisfy us that he or she (1) thoroughly scoured the record in search of appealable issues, (2) identified any issues arguably supporting the appeal, even though they are frivolous, and (3) explained to us why they are frivolous. United States v. Coleman, 575 F.3d 316, 319 (3d Cir.2009) (citing United States v. Marvin, 211 F.3d 778, 780 (3d Cir.2000)). Second, we must consider whether an independent review of the record presents any non-frivolous issues. Youla, 241 F.3d at 300. If the Anders brief appears adequate on its face, we review only the portions of the record identified in the Anders brief and any issues raised by an appellant in a pro se brief. Id. at 301. But, “except in those cases in which frivolousness is patent, we will reject briefs ... in which counsel argue [sic] the purportedly frivolous issues aggressively without explaining the faults in the arguments.” United States v. Marvin, 211 F.3d 778, 781 (3d Cir.2000).

III.

Counsel’s Anders brief is technically insufficient. In his brief, Counsel identifies three potential issues for appeal, all relating to Hill’s sentence: (1) that Hill is entitled to a four-point downward departure pursuant to the federal sentencing guidelines for escaping from a non-secure community correction center, community treatment center, or halfway house; (2) that the District Court abused its discretion in refusing to run Hill’s sentence concurrent to his undischarged drug sentence; and (3) that the District Court failed to consider the defendant’s mental and emotional state in sentencing. Although Counsel examines each potential issue with care, and cites controlling law, Counsel fails to explain to us the faults in these arguments, as required under Marvin, 211 F.3d at 781.

Moreover, Counsel only addressed Hill’s potential sentencing claims. When a defendant pleads guilty, as Hill did, there are three potential issues open for appeal: the District Court’s jurisdiction, the validity of the guilty plea, and the legality of the sentence. See United States v. Broce, 488 U.S. 563, 569, 109 S.Ct. 757, 102 L.Ed.2d 927 (1989). Counsel did not address jurisdiction or the adequacy of Hill’s plea. Notably, Counsel need not include every possible claim of error in an Anders brief, but the brief must exude sufficient indicia that Counsel made a reasoned decision not to raise the issues omitted. Marvin, 211 F.3d at 780. Here, although Hill did not file a pro se brief, he wrote his Counsel a letter bringing up each of the arguments addressed in Counsel’s Anders brief. App. at 43-44. Therefore, we are not confident that Counsel omitted the other appealable issues based on a reasoned belief they lack merit; rather, it appears to us that Counsel merely framed his arguments to respond to the issues the defendant specifically indicated he intended to appeal.

IV.

While Counsel’s Anders brief is inadequate, and no pro se brief was filed, we will not appoint new counsel as we do not need further assistance; the issues are straight[328]*328forward and easily resolvable on the record before us. See Coleman, 575 F.3d at 321 (noting that in those cases when the Court concludes the appeal lacks merit, “we will not appoint new counsel even if an Anders brief is insufficient.”). We will limit our independent review to the record, in light of Hill’s guilty plea, to the District Court’s jurisdiction, the validity of the plea, and the legality of the sentence.

Hill pled guilty to one count of 18 U.S.C. § 751(a). The District Court plainly has jurisdiction over this offense under 18 U.S.C. § 3231, as Hill’s crime was an offense against the laws of the United States. Therefore, Hill can raise no non-frivolous claims with respect to jurisdiction.

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Related

Anders v. California
386 U.S. 738 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Penson v. Ohio
488 U.S. 75 (Supreme Court, 1988)
United States v. Broce
488 U.S. 563 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Gall v. United States
552 U.S. 38 (Supreme Court, 2007)
United States v. Donald Wayne Marvin
211 F.3d 778 (Third Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Johnny Gunter
462 F.3d 237 (Third Circuit, 2006)
United States v. Coleman
575 F.3d 316 (Third Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Tomko
562 F.3d 558 (Third Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Hillstrom
837 F. Supp. 1324 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
358 F. App'x 325, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hill-ca3-2009.