United States v. Norman L. Haymer

995 F.2d 550, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 15948, 1993 WL 231707
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJune 30, 1993
Docket92-7585
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 995 F.2d 550 (United States v. Norman L. Haymer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth 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. Norman L. Haymer, 995 F.2d 550, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 15948, 1993 WL 231707 (5th Cir. 1993).

Opinions

BARKSDALE, Circuit Judge:

Norman L. Haymer appeals his sentence, contending that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated by the inclusion of an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction in calculating his Sentencing Guidelines criminal history score. We AFFIRM.

I.

Haymer pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). In the presen-tence investigation report (PSR), the probation officer recommended a guideline range of 51 to 63 months imprisonment, based upon an offense level of 22 and a criminal history category of III. The criminal history score included 2 points for committing the instant offense while on probation, 1 point for a 1987 conviction, and 1 point for a 1991 shoplifting conviction. The latter is the subject of this appeal. The PSR described the circumstances of that conviction as follows:

Records of the Jackson Police Department indicate Haymer was arrested on May 22, 1991 and charged with shoplifting.... The defendant entered a plea of guilty to the charge in Jackson Municipal Court and was ordered to pay a fine of $300 plus court costs. On November 13, 1991, Hay-mer was arrested by the Jackson Police Department and chárged with contempt of court for failing to pay the imposed fine and court costs. Disposition of the contempt charge has not been received as of this writing, but according to the defendant, he opted to perform 18 days of work at the Hinds County Penal Farm in lieu of paying the fine and court costs.

Athough he did not file written objections to the PSR, Haymer objected, at the sentencing hearing, to the inclusion of the shoplifting conviction in his criminal history score, on the ground that he was not represented by counsel and had served 18 to 19 days in jail. Exclusion of that conviction would have lowered his criminal history score, resulting in a guideline range of 46 to 57, instead of 51 to 63, months.

[552]*552After hearing testimony, the district court found that the original sentence for shoplifting consisted only of a fine, and that Hay-mer’s incarceration resulted either from contempt of court for failure to pay the fine, or from Haymer’s decision to substitute incarceration in lieu of paying it. It also found that Haymer, who was an attorney in Louisiana from 1976-1986, but was disbarred in 1990, acted as his own counsel on the shoplifting charge. Haymer was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment and a five-year term of supervised release and ordered to pay a $50 special assessment and $1,000 fine.

II.

Haymer’s sole contention is that his sentence was imposed in violation of law, or as a result of an incorrect application of the Guidelines, because the uncounseled misdemeanor conviction was included in the calculation of his criminal history score.

We “will uphold a sentence unless it was imposed in violation of law; imposed as a result of an incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines; or outside the range of the applicable sentencing guideline and is unreasonable.” United States v. Howard, 991 F.2d 195,199 (5th Cir.1993). “[W]hether a prior conviction is covered under the sentencing guidelines is ... reviewed de novo, while factual matters concerning the prior conviction are reviewed for clear error.” Id.

In Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367, 99 S.Ct. 1158, 59 L.Ed.2d 383 (1979), the Supreme Court held that an indigent criminal defendant may not “be sentenced to a term of imprisonment” unless the government has afforded him the right to assistance of counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Id. at 373, 374, 99 S.Ct. at 1161, 1162 (emphasis added). Absent a valid waiver of this right, “[i]f an uneounseled defendant is sentenced to prison, the conviction itself is unconstitutional.” United States v. Eckford, 910 F.2d 216, 218 (5th Cir.1990) (emphasis added); United States v. Follín, 979 F.2d 369, 376 (5th Cir.1992). But, the Sixth Amendment does not require the States to provide counsel in criminal cases in which the defendant is not sentenced to imprisonment. Id. Accordingly, uncounseled misdemeanor convictions for which no term of imprisonment is imposed are constitutionally valid, may be introduced into evidence at the punishment phase of a trial for a subsequent offense, and may be used to calculate a defendant’s Guidelines criminal history score. Eckford, 910 F.2d at 220-21; Wilson v. Estelle, 625 F.2d 1158, 1159 (5th Cir. Unit A 1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 912, 101 S.Ct. 1985, 68 L.Ed.2d 302 (1981).

Haymer seeks shelter under Baldasar v. Illinois, 446 U.S. 222, 100 S.Ct. 1585, 64 L.Ed.2d 169 (1980); but our court has repeatedly interpreted that case only to prohibit the use of a prior uncounseled misdemean- or conviction “under an enhanced penalty statute to convert a subsequent misdemeanor into a felony with a prison term.” Wilson v. Estelle, 625 F.2d at 1159 n. 1; see also Eckford, 910 F.2d at 220. Likewise, we have repeatedly held that Baldasar does not prohibit the use of an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction to determine a criminal history category for a crime that is itself a felony. Follin, 979 F.2d at 376 & n. 8. Needless to say, possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine is a felony; therefore, Baldasar is inapplicable.

Consistent with these cases, the Guidelines provide that “uncounseled misdemeanor sentences where imprisonment was not imposed” are to be included in calculating the criminal history score. U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2, comment, (backg’d) (1991). The commentary to that section provides that “[a] sentence which specifies a fine or other non-incarcera-tive disposition as an alternative to a term of imprisonment ... is treated as a non-imprisonment sentence.” U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2, comment. (n. 4). Application note 6 to § 4A1.2 states that “sentences resulting from convictions that a defendant shows to have been previously ruled constitutionally invalid are not to be counted” in computing a defendant’s criminal history score. U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2, comment, (n. 6) (1991). Application note 6 “allows a district court, in its discretion, to inquire into the validity of prior convictions at sentencing hearings.” United States v. Canales, 960 F.2d 1311, 1315 (5th Cir.1992).

[553]*553Haymer presented no evidence that his shoplifting conviction had been previously ruled constitutionally invalid, but instead sought to collaterally attack it at sentencing.

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United States v. Norman L. Haymer
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995 F.2d 550, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 15948, 1993 WL 231707, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-norman-l-haymer-ca5-1993.