United States v. Fields
United States v. Fields
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
Desmond Fields pleaded guilty to four counts of using a telephone in aid of a narcotics offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b). The district court sentenced him to a total of 192 months of imprisonment, one year of supervised release, and $400 in special assessments. Fields appeals, but his appointed counsel moves to withdraw under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), because he cannot discern a non-frivolous issue for appeal. Fields has submitted a response under Circuit Rule 51(b). Because we conclude that all of the potential issues identified by counsel and Fields are frivolous, we grant counsel’s request to withdraw and dismiss the appeal.
Counsel first considers whether Fields could argue that his guilty pleas should be set aside because of noncompliance with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11. In his Rule 51(b) response Fields states
Counsel asserts that the district court substantially complied with Rule 11, and we agree. The district court explained the nature of the charges and the application of the sentencing guidelines, Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(1)(G), (b)(1)(H), and discussed the rights Fields would waive by pleading guilty, including the right to a jury trial, to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and to testify on his own behalf, Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(1)(C), 11(b)(1)(E). The district court also verified that Fields pleaded guilty voluntarily, that he was not forced or coerced into pleading guilty, and that he had sufficient opportunity to discuss with his attorney the consequences of pleading guilty. Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(2). Additionally, the district court advised Fields about the applicable penalties, Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(1)(H), 11(b)(1)(I), and about the effect of supervised release, Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(1)(H).
In his Rule 51(b) response Fields argues that the government’s evidentiary proffer was insufficient and that the district court erred by accepting it. See Fed. R.Crim.P. 11(b)(3). At the change-of-plea hearing, however, the government described Fields’s conduct in detail. The district court then thoroughly questioned Fields, confirming that he agreed with the evidence and was guilty of each element of the offense on all four counts. Since Fields cannot now deny his admissions, see Bridgeman, 229 F.3d at 592, the proffer was sufficient, see United States v. Christian, 342 F.3d 744, 748 (7th Cir. 2003) (court “must find that the facts support the charge”). Accordingly, we agree with counsel that an appeal based on the propriety of the guilty pleas would be frivolous.
Counsel also questions whether Fields could challenge the district court’s conclusion that the motion to suppress pending at the time of Fields’s guilty pleas was moot. Fields pleaded guilty unconditionally, and the district court accepted his pleas. Because a guilty plea waives all non-jurisdictional defects occurring before the plea, see United States v. Elizalde-Adame, 262 F.3d 637, 639 (7th Cir. 2001), we agree that this argument would be frivolous.
Finally, counsel examines whether Fields could challenge his prison sentence but concludes that any such challenge would be frivolous because in his plea agreement Fields waived his right to appeal the term imposed. Fields’s plea agreement contains his promise to forego appealing his sentence insofar as it is with
For the foregoing reasons, we GRANT counsel’s motion to withdraw and DISMISS the appeal.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES v. Desmond FIELDS
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published