United States v. Nicole Puller

285 F. App'x 538
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedJuly 16, 2008
Docket07-1397
StatusUnpublished

This text of 285 F. App'x 538 (United States v. Nicole Puller) 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. Nicole Puller, 285 F. App'x 538 (10th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

DAVID M. EBEL, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Nicole Puller pled guilty to (1) violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2, Wire Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, and (2) violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 1957 and 2, Money Laundering and Aiding and Abetting. Puller now appeals, raising issues with respect to her sentence as well as the district court’s denial of her motion to suppress. Puller’s counsel filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), and moved for leave to withdraw; Puller submitted a supplemental brief on her own behalf. Having considered each, we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and dismiss this appeal.

*540 I. BACKGROUND

Most generally, Puller was one of seven people indicted for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme. As stipulated in Puller’s plea agreement, the conduct that gave rise to her indictment occurred in the fall of 2004.' It was at that time that Puller, having assumed the identity of Shanae Garner, purchased residential properties using a fake Colorado driver’s license along with the social security number of the true Shanae Garner. The lenders that financed Puller’s purchases were unaware of her true identity and were similarly unaware of the many false representations that Puller made on each of her loan applications.

Puller moved to suppress much of the evidence that the government had obtained against her. The district court denied her motion, and thereafter, Puller entered into an unconditional plea agreement with the government under which she agreed to plead guilty to two charges: (1) violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2, Wire Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, and (2) violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 1957 and 2, Money Laundering and Aiding and Abetting. For its part, the government agreed (1) not to pursue additional charges against Puller, (2) to move to dismiss the remaining charges against her, (3) to move for a one-point offense level reduction pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3El.l(b), and (4) to recommend a sentence “no higher than the mid-range of the applicable sentencing guideline range.” Under the explicit terms of the plea agreement, however, “[t]he Government intended] to argue ’'that [Puller] [was] not entitled to any reduction in sentence for cooperation.”

Having accepted Puller’s guilty plea, the district court determined that her total offense level was 17 and that her criminal history category was III. Puller’s total offense level coupled with her criminal history category resulted in a guideline sentence range of 30 to 37 months’ imprisonment. The district court sentenced her at the middle-end of that range: 34 months. In doing so, the court explicitly rejected Puller’s argument that she should receive a lower sentence based on her cooperation with authorities. Puller now appeals.

II. DISCUSSION

In Anders, the Supreme Court held that “if counsel finds his case to be wholly frivolous, after a conscientious examination of it, he should so advise the court and request permission to withdraw.” 386 U.S. at 744, 87 S.Ct. 1396. This court “must then conduct a full examination of the record to determine whether defendant’s claims are wholly frivolous. If [we] conclude [ ] after such an examination that the appeal is frivolous, [we] may grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and may dismiss the appeal.” United States v. Calderon, 428 F.3d 928, 930 (10th Cir.2005).

Counsel’s brief appears to identify two potential issues for appeal: (1) the government’s refusal to file a substantial-assistance motion pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, and (2) the reasonableness of Puller’s sentence. In addition to counsel’s brief, Puller has filed a supplemental brief asserting that the government should have filed a § 5K1.1 motion on her behalf, and that the district court erred in denying her motion to suppress. Along with this brief, Puller has filed a motion for resentencing pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), which purports to have been filed in “The United States District Court for the Tenth Circuit District of Colorado.” Each of these matters will be considered in turn.

A. U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1

Pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, a sentencing court may depart from the guide *541 lines “[u]pon motion of the government stating that the defendant has provided substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense....” In this case, the government did not file such a motion on Puller’s behalf, and Puller’s counsel asserts that there is no non-frivolous ground on which Puller may challenge this decision. Having undertaken a full examination of the record, as required by Anders, we agree.

“[T]his court can review the government’s refusal to file a substantial-assistance motion only if that decision was based on an unconstitutional motive or was not rationally related to a legitimate government end.” United States v. Dominguez Beltran, 184 Fed.Appx. 799, 802 (10th Cir.2006) (unpublished) (citing Wade v. United States, 504 U.S. 181, 185-86, 112 S.Ct. 1840, 118 L.Ed.2d 524 (1992); United States v. Duncan, 242 F.3d 940, 946 (10th Cir.2001)). Based on our review of the record, we agree with Puller’s counsel that neither exception is at issue here. Indeed, as Puller’s counsel points out, no claim was ever raised below under the “unconstitutional motive” exception.

In her supplemental brief, however, Puller somewhat ambiguously contends that the government violated the Equal Protection Clause when it filed § 5K1.1 motions with respect to two of her co-defendants, but declined to do so in her case. This argument was not raised below, and “[w]hile we have reviewed sentencing errors that were not raised in the district court under a plain error standard, plain error review is not appropriate when the alleged error involves the resolution of factual disputes.” United States v. Easter, 981 F.2d 1549, 1555-56 (10th Cir.1992) (citation omitted).

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Related

Anders v. California
386 U.S. 738 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Wade v. United States
504 U.S. 181 (Supreme Court, 1992)
United States v. Duncan
242 F.3d 940 (Tenth Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Calderon
428 F.3d 928 (Tenth Circuit, 2005)
United States v. Kristl
437 F.3d 1050 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
United States v. James Easter, Jr.
981 F.2d 1549 (Tenth Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Robertson
45 F.3d 1423 (Tenth Circuit, 1995)
United States v. Beltran
184 F. App'x 799 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)

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Bluebook (online)
285 F. App'x 538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-nicole-puller-ca10-2008.