United States v. Williams

25 F. App'x 450
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Williams. Read the opinion of the Court — 51 F. App'x 589
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit·Decided December 19, 2001·No. No. 01-2780·Published

Opinion

ORDER

The district court sentenced Kayode C. Williams to 48 months’ incarceration after he pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). On appeal Mr. Williams argues that (1) his guilty plea was not voluntary because the court rushed him into making it and did not adequately apprise him of the consequences of his plea, and (2) the court erred by denying his request for a downward departure based on his status as a deport-able alien. We affirm.

In January 2001 Mr. Williams agreed to sell 100 grams of heroin to an informant. On January 23, Mr. Williams and the wired informant met in Mr. Williams’s car at a Chicago White Castle parking lot (under the watchful eye of federal law enforcement officials) to consummate the [452]*452transaction. After a brief conversation, the informant signaled for the agents to arrest Mr. Williams. As the agents approached, Mr. Williams fled in his car and was apprehended after a two-block chase. The agents arrested Mr. Williams and searched his ear, discovering two plastic bags containing 99.9 grams of heroin.

Mr. Williams filed a motion to suppress the heroin as the product of an unlawful search, which the district court denied without an evidentiary hearing. During a March 14 status hearing, defense counsel informed the court that Mr. Williams wanted to change his plea to guilty. Defense counsel told the court that “we can reach a plea agreement with the government ... [w]e just need time for him to sit down with the government to give some information.” Defense counsel asked for one week to accommodate a meeting with the government and the judge responded that she would be “unavailable next week.” Defense counsel replied that Mr. Williams would enter a blind guilty plea and work out the details at a later time.

After determining that Mr. Williams was competent to enter a guilty plea, the district court asked him if he had enough time to discuss his plea with his attorney. Mr. Williams said no. The court then ordered a recess to allow Mr. Williams additional time to confer with his attorney. The hearing reconvened 30 minutes later, at 9:30 a.m. The court first noted that the Assistant United States Attorney had jury selection scheduled for a different case at 10:00 a.m. that morning. The judge also told the parties that she had a 10:00 a.m. appointment, but stated that “[w]e can proceed and see how far we get. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to do that because I don’t want to rush Mr. Williams.” The court asked Mr. Williams if he had been afforded enough time to talk to his attorney. Mr. Williams said yes. The court then proceeded with the plea colloquy and accepted his plea.

The probation officer recommended a two-level upward adjustment in Mr. Williams’s offense level under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for reckless endangerment during flight from arrest. Mr. Williams objected, and also requested a downward departure under United States v. Farouil, 124 F.3d 838 (7th Cir.1997), on the ground that his status as a deportable alien would result in exceptional hardship in his conditions of confinement. Mr. Williams also requested a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.20 on the ground that his conduct was aberrant. In addition Mr. Williams asked the court to consider a downward departure based on a combination of these two factors.

During the sentencing hearing, the district court sustained Mr. Williams’s PSR objection and declined to impose a two-level upward adjustment for reckless endangerment during flight. The court calculated Mr. Williams’s offense level to be 23 with a criminal history category of I, yielding a guidelines range of 46-57 months. The court then denied Mr. Williams’s requests for downward departures based on aberrant behavior and status as a deportable alien. The court sentenced Mr. Williams to 48 months’ incarceration, three years’ supervised release, and imposed a $100 special assessment.

Mr. Williams raises two issues on appeal. First, he contends that the district court violated his due process rights by allowing him only 30 minutes to consult with his attorney before pleading guilty and by failing to adequately inform him of various consequences of his guilty plea under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11. Second, Mr. Williams argues that the court misapplied the law in denying his [453]*453request for a downward departure based on his status as a deportable alien.

Mr. Williams argues that the district court rushed him into pleading guilty, but the record does not support his claim. First, Mr. Williams erroneously suggests that the court allowed him only 30 minutes to talk with his attorney prior to his plea. Mr. Williams, however, had three weeks to discuss his plea with counsel and apparently did so before the March 14 hearing.

In addition the district court took appropriate measures to ensure that Mr. Williams had been provided enough time to discuss his plea with counsel. Mr. Williams initially told the court that he had not been given enough time to confer with his attorney, and the court appropriately ordered a recess to allow him additional time to discuss his impending change of plea. Although the judge advised the parties that she had an appointment at 10:00 a.m. and that the AUSA had to leave in 30 minutes, she also stated that she did not want to rush Mr. Williams. The court then made sure that Mr. Williams had received sufficient opportunity to talk with his attorney:

THE COURT: I was asking you if you had had enough time to speak with your attorney, Mr. Thomas, just before we recessed, and that was about, what, half an hour ago or so? Have you had enough time to talk to him now?
MR. WILLIAMS: Yes.
THE COURT: Without disclosing to me what you’ve talked about, have you told him everything you know about the circumstances of this case?
MR. WILLIAMS: Yes.
THE COURT: Are you satisfied with the advice he’s given you and the efforts he’s made on your behalf?
MR. WILLIAMS: Yes.

Mr. Williams’s representation under oath that he had sufficient opportunity to discuss the case with his lawyer is presumed truthful. See United States v. Standiford, 148 F.3d 864, 868 (7th Cir.1998). In short the court did not rush Mr. Williams into pleading guilty.

Mr. Williams next argues that the district court violated Rule 11 by failing to properly advise him of his appeal rights or how the applicable sentencing guidelines would be applied to his sentence. Mr. Williams’s challenges, however, are not persuasive, whether this court reviews the district court’s handling of his plea for plain error, see United States v. Driver, 242 F.3d 767, 769 (7th Cir.2001), petition for cert. filed, — U.S.L.W. - (U.S. May 16, 2001) (No. 00-10033), or harmless error, see United States v. Vonn, 224 F.3d 1152, 1155 (9th Cir.2000), cert. granted, 531 U.S.

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United States v. Williams, 25 F. App'x 450 (7th Cir. 2001).

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