### IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 20

- 10128 Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , Plaintiff

- Appellee

v.
CHRISTOPHER AUNDRE FAULKNER , also known as Christopher A. Faulkner,

Defendant

- Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:18

- CR

- 500

- 1

Before WIENER, HAYNES, and COSTA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Christopher Aundre Faulkner appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to reconsider or revoke his pretrial detention , arguing that his prolonged detention violate s due process

. We review the ultimate legal question concerning a due process challenge de novo, United States v. Burns , 526 F.3d 852, 859 (5th Cir. 2008), deferring to the district court’s underlying

* Pursuant to 5 TH C IR

. R. 47.5 , the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set f orth in 5 TH C IR

. R. 47.5.4. United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit 

### FILED April 16, 2020 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Case: 20-10128 Document: 00515384283 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/16/2020No. 20

- 10128

2 fact finding unless it is clearly erroneous, see United States v. Molina

- Solorio , 577 F.3d 300, 303 (5th Cir. 2009)

. See also United States v. Stanford , 394 F. App’x 72, 7 4 (5th Cir. 2010) (applying these standards to due process challenge to detention). In considering whether pretrial detention violates due process, we consi de r the original justification for the detention as well as “the length of the detention that has in fact occurred or may occur in the future, the non

speculative nature of future detention, the complexity of the case, and whether the strategy of one side or the other occasions the delay .” United States v. Hare , 873 F.2d 796, 801 (5th Cir. 1989)

. Faulkner fails to show error in the district court’s rejection of his due process claim

. S erious concerns about flight risk supported the original detention order. Faulk n er was arrested while he was about to board a plane to London. He had in his possession gold bars, gold coins, more than $10,000 in cash, and his birth certificate. The government had information that Faulkner’s mother was arranging for him to live in Lebanon. This strong basis for the original detention order weighs against Faulkner’s due process claim

. Id

. Although the length of the detention (roughly 18 months) weighs in fav or of a due process violation, this factor alone is not dispositive and courts have allowed much lengthier detentions. Stanford , 394 F. App’x at 75 (citing cases rejecting due process challenges to detentions lasting thirty or more months). The uncertain length of future detention also supports Faulkner, though the district court is working with the parties to set a trial date. But t he complexit y of th is investment fraud case weighs against a due process violation, and we find no basis for disrupting the district court’s factual determination that the delay is not the government’s fault

. Id . (noting these factors weight against a due process fin ding). Instead, much of the delay resulted from Faulkner’s Case: 20-10128 Document: 00515384283 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/16/2020No. 20

- 10128

3 withdrawal of his guilty plea after the district court rejected a plea agreement. That unusual situation and the resulting delay did not transform the purpose of this pretrial detention from a pe rmissible regulatory one into an unconstitutional ly punitive one. AFFIRMED. Case: 20-10128 Document: 00515384283 Page: 3 Date Filed: 04/16/2020