Theodore Wiggins v. United States
Opinion
Facing drug charges, Theodore Wiggins rejected two plea offers: one providing for a sentence of 15 years in prison and the other providing a sentence range of 10 years to life with the government restricted to arguing for a within United States Sentencing Guidelines range. He then stood trial, was found guilty by a jury, and received a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment pursuant to
I. Background
In June 2011, Wiggins was charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of
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cocaine base in violation of
Prior to trial, the government extended two plea offers to Wiggins. The first was a binding plea agreement for a 15-year sentence. The second required Wiggins to plead guilty to a lesser offense under Count 1, with the understanding that he could argue for the 10-year mandatory minimum sentence while the government would recommend a sentence within the Sentencing Guidelines range. Wiggins rejected both offers. The case proceeded to a three-day trial, and the jury found Wiggins guilty on both counts. Applying the sentence enhancements, the district court sentenced Wiggins to life imprisonment, the mandatory sentence, on Count 1, and 30 years imprisonment, the maximum sentence, on Count 8, to be served concurrently. Wiggins appealed his conviction and sentence, which we affirmed.
United States v. Wiggins
,
Wiggins then filed a timely § 2255 motion, asserting, as relevant here, that his appointed defense counsel was ineffective for failing to advise him that he would be subject to a mandatory life sentence if convicted at trial. At the evidentiary hearing, counsel testified that, at the time he represented Wiggins, he believed the conspiracy-to-distribute-cocaine charge contained in Count 1, when enhanced by two prior drug offenses, was punishable by a prison sentence of 30 years to life. But, he believed that one of Wiggins's two prior drug offenses did not qualify for the enhancement and that Count 1 therefore was actually punishable by a sentence of 20 years to life. It is undisputed that Counsel's understanding was in error. Counsel conveyed this erroneous understanding to Wiggins, and he and Wiggins discussed, on numerous occasions, the consequences of going to trial versus accepting one of the two alternative plea offers. Wiggins rejected the idea of a non-binding plea offer and stated he was unwilling to enter into an agreement that could result in a sentence of over 10 years because he was innocent and he wanted to see his daughter graduate from high school. Wiggins admitted his guilt at the § 2255 evidentiary hearing, but testified that when he rejected the plea offers, he believed the judge could sentence him to as little as 20 years if convicted. Wiggins stated that if he had known the truth-that conviction on count 1 carried a mandatory life sentence-he would have accepted the 15-year offer.
On August 18, 2016, the district court granted Wiggins relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, finding defense counsel performed deficiently in the plea negotiation process and Wiggins had shown prejudice. The court accepted Wiggins's testimony that he would have entered into one of the plea agreements had he known that conviction at trial would result in a mandatory life sentence and the court concluded it would likely have accepted either of the plea agreements. The court found, however, that it was "not credible that [Wiggins] would have accepted a binding plea agreement with a 15-year sentence." In support of this conclusion *621 the court noted that, in the face of overwhelming evidence against him Wiggins continued to adamantly deny his guilt, was firmly unwilling to accept a plea bargain that could result in a sentence of over 10 years, and his trial resulted in significant costs to the government. The court therefore concluded that the proper remedy was to order the government to reoffer Wiggins only the second plea option, which required Wiggins to plead guilty to Count 1 and face a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
On October 11, 2016, Wiggins pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base, a lesser-included offense to Count 1. The district court determined the Sentencing Guidelines range was 110 to 137 months imprisonment, limited by the 120-month statutory mandatory minimum. The court sentenced Wiggins to 20 years imprisonment, entering judgment on December 20, 2016. Wiggins appealed on December 22, 2016, challenging the district court's decision to reinstate only one plea offer, as opposed to both. After we issued a certificate of appealability, the government filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as untimely.
II. Discussion
We first address the government's motion to dismiss. Under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B)(i), Wiggins was required to appeal "within 60 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from." A judgment or order is "final," and thus appealable, if it is "final not only as to all the parties, but as to the whole subject-matter and as to all the causes of action involved."
Andrews v. United States
,
However, the order granting Wiggins's § 2255 motion did not become final and appealable until the district court resentenced Wiggins.
See
Andrews
,
In addition, the government raises two related arguments-concerning mootness
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and waiver-which both rest upon the government's contention that Wiggins should have appealed the § 2255 order immediately, rather than waiting until after resentencing. First, the government argues Wiggins's claim is moot because the district court vacated his original sentence and he has not appealed his new sentence.
United States v. Evans
,
This brings us to the merits of Wiggins's claim. Although the district court granted his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, Wiggins argues that the court erred in its choice of remedy: requiring the government to reoffer only one of the plea bargains rather than both. Instead, Wiggins contends he should be presented with both plea options. A proper remedy for ineffective assistance of counsel should "be tailored to the injury suffered from the constitutional violation and should not unnecessarily infringe on competing interests."
See
Lafler v. Cooper
,
Here, the district court concluded that requiring the government to reoffer the plea bargain was the appropriate remedy, but further determined the government should only reoffer one of the two plea options that were previously available to Wiggins-a sentence of 10 years to life with the government restricted to arguing for a sentence within the Sentencing Guidelines range. The district court accepted Wiggins's testimony that he would have entered into one of the offered plea bargains if he had known his conviction on count 1 would result in a mandatory life sentence, but found it was "not credible that [Wiggins] would have accepted [the] binding plea agreement with a 15-year sentence."
We review the district court's legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings and credibility determinations for clear error.
Laird v. United States
,
*623
The district court found Wiggins' testimony that he would have accepted the 15-year plea offer not credible for several reasons. First, the court points to the fact that Wiggins consistently denied his guilt until after sentencing and the court may consider a defendant's earlier unwillingness to accept responsibility in determining whether the defendant would have accepted a previously-offered plea agreement.
Garcia v. United States
,
While the district court's factual findings amply support its decision as to the appropriate remedy in this case, we also observe that, to a large degree, whether both plea bargains were reoffered or only the proposal of 10 years to life is irrelevant because the district court retained the discretion to reject either or both of the proposals taking into account "all the circumstances of the case."
Lafler
,
III. Conclusion
The district court was free to exercise discretion in implementing an appropriate remedy for the Sixth Amendment violation in this case,
see
Lafler
,
Accordingly, we deny the motion to dismiss this appeal and affirm the judgment of the district court.
We recognize that in
Davis v. United States
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Theodore S. WIGGINS, Movant-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent-Appellee.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published