Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Carl LIEDKE, also known as CMAJ 955@AOL.COM, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2011-10-20
Citations: 449 F. App'x 44
Docket Number: No. 09-2808-cr
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Carl LIEDKE, also known as CMAJ 955@AOL.COM, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Present: ROSEMARY S. POOLER, ROBERT D. SACK, REENA RAGGI, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 449
Pages: 44–46

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Carl LIEDKE, also known as CMAJ 955@AOL.COM, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 09-2808-cr.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Oct. 20, 2011.
Lawrence D. Gerzog, Law Office of Lawrence D. Gerzog, Esq., New York, N.Y., for Appellant.
Katherine Polk Failla, Anna M. Skotko, Assistant United States Attorneys, of Counsel, for Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, New York, N.Y., for Appellee.
Present: ROSEMARY S. POOLER, ROBERT D. SACK, REENA RAGGI, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
SUMMARY ORDER
Appellant Carl Liedke pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing, via e-mail, material containing child pornography that had been transported in interstate or foreign commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2)(B). He was sentenced principally to 188 months' imprisonment, to be followed by five years' supervised release. Petitioner now appeals from his September 3, 2008 judgment of conviction. On appeal, Liedke asserts that the district court's misstatement of the maximum supervised release term during the plea proceeding rendered defendant's plea and appeal waiver invalid. We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts, procedural history, and specification of issues for review.
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(b)(1) requires a district court, prior to accepting a plea of guilty, to "inform the defendant of, and determine that the defendant understands . any maximum possible penalty, including any . term of supervised release " and "any mandatory minimum penalty." Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(1) (emphasis added). "[T]his Circuit has adopted a standard of strict adherence to Rule 11." United States v. Livorsi, 180 F.3d 76, 78 (2d Cir.1999) (internal quotation marks omitted). We therefore "examine critically even slight procedural deficiencies to ensure that the defendant's guilty plea was a voluntary and intelligent choice, and that none of the defendant's substantial rights ha[s] been compromised." United States v. Maher, 108 F.3d 1513, 1520 (2d Cir.1997) (alteration in original) (internal quotation mark omitted).
Here, there is no question that the district court erred in advising Liedke that the maximum supervised release term was three years. In fact, the statutory minimum term was five years. There is no indication that defendant knew the correct supervised release requirements at the time of plea. A violation of Rule 11, however, does not necessarily render a conviction invalid: "A variance from the requirements of [Rule 11] is harmless error if it does not affect substantial rights." Fed. R.Crim.P. 11(h).
Moreover, where, as here, a defendant fails to object to a Rule 11 violation, the error is reviewable only under the "plain error" standard, not the "harmless error" standard articulated in Rule 11(h). United States v. Vaval, 404 F.3d 144, 151 (2d Cir.2005) ("In the Rule 11 context, a silent defendant has the burden to satisfy the plain-error rule.") (internal quotation marks omitted). "[T]o show plain error, a defendant must establish that the violation affected substantial rights and that there is 'a reasonable probability that, but for the error, he would not have entered the plea.' " Id. (quoting United States v. Dominguez Benitez, 542 U.S. 74, 83, 124 S.Ct. 2333, 159 L.Ed.2d 157 (2004)).
Our precedent counsels that, "[i]n assessing the likely effect of a Rule 11 error, we are to examine the entire record." United States v. Torrellas, 455 F.3d 96, 103 (2d Cir.2006). To determine whether the defendant has demonstrated "a reasonable probability that, but for the error, he would not have entered the plea[,] . we consider, inter alia, any record evidence tending to show that a misunderstanding was inconsequential to a defendant's decision to plead guilty, as well as the overall strength of the Government's case." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).
Of particular relevance here is the fact that the Pre-Sentence Report stated the correct mandatory minimum and maximum terms of supervised release. Liedke received this report prior to the sentencing hearing and made no motion to withdraw his plea at the time he received it. Moreover, he did not object at the sentencing hearing either before or after sentencing. At that hearing, Liedke's attorney represented on the record that he had "gone over" the Pre-Sentence Report with Liedke and had "no objections" to the report.
"Where a defendant, before sentencing, learns of information erroneously omitted in violation of Rule 11 but fails to attempt to withdraw his plea based on that violation, there can be no reasonable probability that, but for the [Rule 11 violation], he would not have entered the plea, and the plain error standard is not met." Vaval, 404 F.3d at 152 (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). In Liedke's case, the court made a misrepresentation rather than an omission, but, just as in Vaval, Liedke never sought to withdraw his plea upon learning the correct supervised release range, neither after he received the Pre-Sentence Report, nor after the court sentenced him to a term two years higher than the "maximum" it had previously stated in ei'ror.
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court hereby is AFFIRMED.