Zoltan Attila Biro v. United States

24 F.3d 1140, 94 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3582, 94 Daily Journal DAR 6718, 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 11037, 1994 WL 192444
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided May 19, 1994·No. 93-35523·Published·Cited by 20 cases

Opinion

Opinion by Judge BRUNETTI

*1141 BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge:

Federal prisoner Zoltán Attila Biro (“Biro”) appeals pro se the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence which the district court imposed following his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and distribution of cocaine. We address only Biro’s claim that the district court erred in not advising him of his right to appeal his sentence. We discuss his remaining claims in an unpublished memorandum decision.

FACTS AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

Biro was charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, distributing cocaine during 1987, and distributing cocaine during 1988. Prior to trial, he entered into a plea agreement requiring him to plead guilty to all three counts, forfeit drug-related proceeds, and cooperate with the authorities.

In return, the government agreed not to pursue any other drug charges. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(e)(1)(C), the parties also agreed that the appropriate disposition of the case would be a range of 151 to 235 months imprisonment. To enable the court to sentence within that range, and in recognition of Biro’s assistance to the government’s investigation, the government agreed to file a § 5K1.1 motion. 1

On February 18,1992, Biro pleaded guilty, and the court set sentencing for June 12, 1992. The Presentence Report determined that Biro’s guideline range was 188 to 235 months. The government filed its § 5K1.1 motion and recommended a sentence between the low end and mid-point of the agreed sentencing range. The district court sentenced Biro to 170 months imprisonment and five years supervised release and assessed a $150 fine.

Biro filed a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence. The district court summarily dismissed in part and denied in part Biro’s motion. He appeals.

DISCUSSION

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(a)(2) requires the sentencing court, in the case of a guilty plea, to advise the defendant of any right to appeal the sentence. 2 Since the district court did not so advise Biro, we grant Biro’s petition and remand for resen-tencing with notice of the right to appeal the sentence.

Biro observes correctly that the sentencing transcript shows that the district court did not advise him of his right to appeal the sentence. He argues that we must vacate his sentence and remand to the district court for resentencing with notice of his right to appeal. See United States v. Butler, 938 F.2d 702, 703 (6th Cir.1991) (citing United States v. Smith, 387 F.2d 268 (6th Cir.1967)).

In Marrow v. United States, 772 F.2d 525, 528-529 (9th Cir.1985), the defendant claimed that his attorney’s representation was ineffective because his attorney had failed to advise him of his right to appeal. We discussed the trial judge’s duty under Rule 32(a)(2) to advise the defendant of his right to appeal following a guilty plea as that duty related to the obligation of the defendant’s attorney. We concluded that Congress intended Rule 32(a)(2) to have its plain and obvious meaning: a duty to tell pleading defendants only of their right to appeal their sentences. Id.

There is a split in the circuits regarding the proper standard for reviewing the trial court’s failure to advise the defendant of his right to appeal. The majority rule is that when a trial court fails to inform a defendant *1142 of his right to appeal, the right to appeal must be reinstated without regard to whether the defendant knew of that right. In United States v. Benthien, 434 F.2d 1031, 1032 (1st Cir.1970), the First Circuit held that a trial court’s failure to inform a defendant of his right to appeal in compliance with Rule 32(a)(2) constitutes per se reversible error. See also United States v. Deans, 436 F.2d 596, 599, n. 3 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied, 403 U.S. 911, 91 S.Ct. 2211, 29 L.Ed.2d 688 (1971) (“there is no adequate substitute for compliance on the record with Rule 32(a)(2)”); Paige v. United States, 443 F.2d 781, 782 (4th Cir.1971) (failure of a sentencing court to advise a convicted defendant of his right to appeal as required by Rule 32(a)(2) requires a remand for resentencing and reinstatement of the right to appeal); Nance v. United States, 422 F.2d 590, 592 (7th Cir.1970) (“the only remedy for the failure of the district court to advise a defendant of his right to appeal is for the case to be remanded to the district court for resentenc-ing at which time the court should inform him of his appeal rights as required by Fed. R.Crim.P. 32(a)(2)”); United States v. Smith, 387 F.2d 268, 270-71 (6th Cir.1967). The rationale behind adopting the per se view is that it would “eliminate persistent litigation over whether the defendant had been fully informed of his rights by his counsel.” United States v. Drummond, 903 F.2d 1171, 1175 (8th Cir.1990) (Heaney, J., dissenting), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1049, 111 S.Ct. 759, 112 L.Ed.2d 779 (1991).

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Zoltan Attila Biro v. United States, 24 F.3d 1140, 94 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3582, 94 Daily Journal DAR 6718, 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 11037, 1994 WL 192444 (9th Cir. 1994).

24 F.3d 1140 (Zoltan Attila Biro v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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