United States v. William Williams

111 F.3d 139, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 13500, 1997 WL 187342
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedApril 15, 1997
Docket95-50530
StatusUnpublished

This text of 111 F.3d 139 (United States v. William Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. William Williams, 111 F.3d 139, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 13500, 1997 WL 187342 (9th Cir. 1997).

Opinion

111 F.3d 139

NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
William WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 95-50530.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Jan. 8, 1997.
Decided April 15, 1997.

Before FLETCHER and TROTT, Circuit Judges, and JENKINS,* District Judge.

MEMORANDUM**

William Williams, his wife, and a business associate engaged in a series of real estate loan and related financial transactions involving several lending institutions. On August 5, 1993, Williams was indicted for acts related to several of those transactions. On April 11, 1994, pursuant to a March 15, 1994 plea agreement, Williams entered guilty pleas to Counts One (conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 371), Two (making false statements to federally insured lending institutions, 18 U.S.C. § 1014), Three (same), Seven (bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1344), Nine (aiding and abetting, 18 U.S.C. § 2), and Twelve (monetary transaction violations, 18 U.S.C. § 1957) of the thirteen-count Indictment.

On August 2 and October 23, 1995, the district court held extended sentencing hearings. After considering evidence and argument concerning the actual losses attributable to Williams' conduct, and computing an adjusted offense level of 20 and a criminal history category of I under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, the district court sentenced Williams to concurrent terms of imprisonment, namely 33 months (Counts One, Seven, Nine & Twelve) and 24 months (Counts Two & Three) respectively. In addition, Williams was sentenced to a term of three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,575,918.20 in restitution.

Williams asserts that the district court erred in calculating the amount of loss caused by Williams' "relevant conduct" involving a $3,025,000 Santa Paula Savings loan on "Hidden Lakes Phase II," a condominium development project: he argues that the court misallocated the burden of proof and erroneously attributed $1,327,101 of the lender's prior losses on the Hidden Lakes development to Williams' conduct in the Phase II loan transaction. Williams also asserts that the district court erroneously found that he is capable of paying $2,575,918.20 in restitution and erroneously adjusted his offense level two points upward based upon his leadership role in the offense.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1994) and 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (1994). We affirm.

* The district court's findings of fact at sentencing are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. Such findings need only be supported by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Asagba, 77 F.3d 324, 325 (9th Cir.1996); United States v. Fuentes-Mendoza, 56 F.3d 1113, 1116 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 116 S.Ct. 326 (1995); United States v. Harper, 42 F.3d 1387 (9th Cir.1994); 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e); see Concrete Pipe & Prod. of California, Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust, 508 U.S. 602, 623 (1993) ("[R]eview under the clearly erroneous standard is significantly deferential, requiring a 'definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed' " before we reverse). The district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines to the facts is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. The district court's interpretation of the Guidelines, as a question of law,

"is not entitled to deference, though '[l]ittle turns on whether we label review of this particular question abuse of discretion or de novo, for ... [a] district court by definition abuses its discretion when it makes an error of law.' " United States v. Willett, 90 F.3d 404, 406 (9th Cir.1996) (internal citation omitted) (alteration in original) (quoting Koon v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 2047, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996) (holding that a district court's departure from the Guidelines is reviewed for an abuse of discretion))....

United States v. Petersen, 98 F.3d 502, 505-06 (9th Cir.1996); see also 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e) (the "court of appeals shall give ... due deference to the district court's application of the guidelines to the facts"). The court of appeals reviews de novo whether the district court applied an improper measure of value in calculating "loss" under the guidelines. See, e.g., United States v. Kelly, 993 F.2d 702, 704 (9th Cir.1993).

We review de novo whether a defendant has waived his statutory right to appeal. United States v. Petty, 80 F.3d 1384, 1386 (9th Cir.1996); United States v. Haggard, 41 F.3d 1320, 1325 (9th Cir.1994) ("An express waiver of the right to appeal in a negotiated plea of guilty is valid if knowingly and voluntarily made." (internal quotations omitted)). If a defendant intentionally relinquishes and abandons a known legal right, the matter lies beyond the scope of appellate review. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732-33 (1993). If a defendant fails timely to assert a right, the waiver of that right is reviewed for plain error. Id. at 733-36.

II

A. Waiver of Appeal from Sentence

The Government contends that Williams has waived any right to appeal from his imposed sentence as set forth in his plea agreement, which reads in pertinent part:

11. As set forth above, you understand that a sentencing guideline range for your case will be determined by the Court in accordance with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.... You further understand that Title 18, United States Code, Section 3742 gives you the right to appeal the sentence imposed by the Court. Acknowledging all of this, you knowingly and voluntarily waive your right to appeal any sentence imposed by the Court and the manner in which the sentence is determined, so long as your sentence is within the applicable sentencing guideline range. By this agreement, you do not, however, waive your right to appeal an upward departure from the sentencing guideline range determined by the Court to apply to your case.

Based upon this language, the Government asserts that Williams "agreed that he could only appeal an upward departure from the applicable sentencing guideline range." The Government relies on United States v. DeSantiago-Martinez, 38 F.3d 394, 395 (9th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 115 S.Ct. 939 (1995), and United States v. Bolinger, 940 F.2d 478 (9th Cir.1991), as authority for the proposition that "an express waiver of the right to appeal in a negotiated plea of guilty is valid if knowingly and voluntarily made." Id. at 480. The Government submits that it "recommended, and the district court imposed, a sentence within the applicable guideline range," thus satisfying the terms of the plea agreement.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Williams v. United States
503 U.S. 193 (Supreme Court, 1992)
United States v. Olano
507 U.S. 725 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Koon v. United States
518 U.S. 81 (Supreme Court, 1996)
United States v. Michael A. Cannizzaro
871 F.2d 809 (Ninth Circuit, 1989)
United States v. William George Howard
894 F.2d 1085 (Ninth Circuit, 1990)
United States v. Jose Navarro-Botello
912 F.2d 318 (Ninth Circuit, 1990)
United States v. Santiago Mares-Molina
913 F.2d 770 (Ninth Circuit, 1990)
United States v. Victor Charles Reed
914 F.2d 1288 (Ninth Circuit, 1990)
United States v. Robert Bolinger
940 F.2d 478 (Ninth Circuit, 1991)
United States v. Miguel Angel Flores-Payon
942 F.2d 556 (Ninth Circuit, 1991)
United States v. Alfred James Smith
951 F.2d 1164 (Tenth Circuit, 1991)
United States v. James B.A. Niven
952 F.2d 289 (Ninth Circuit, 1991)
United States v. John R. Mount
966 F.2d 262 (Seventh Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Marcus Steve Galliano
977 F.2d 1350 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Kenneth E. Haddock
12 F.3d 950 (Tenth Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Brian Hutchison
22 F.3d 846 (Ninth Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Kent Harper
32 F.3d 1387 (Ninth Circuit, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
111 F.3d 139, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 13500, 1997 WL 187342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-william-williams-ca9-1997.