Opinion ID: 745
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Misstating the Applicable Statutory Minimum and Maximum Sentence

Text: Under Rule 11(b)(1)(H)-(I), the district court must inform the defendant of, and ensure that he understands, the statutory minimum and maximum sentence he faces. Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(1)(H)-(I). A violation of § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) carries a statutory minimum of ten years' imprisonment and a statutory maximum of life imprisonment. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A). At the Rule 11 hearing in this case, the district court erroneously informed Mr. Ferrel of the Guidelines sentencing range urged by the government rather than the statutory ten-years-to-life range under § 841(b)(1)(A). Because Mr. Ferrel did not object to this error or otherwise raise this issue below, we again review for plain error and again conclude that Mr. Ferrel has failed to show that he would not have pleaded guilty had he correctly been informed of the statutory minimum and maximum sentence. First, although the district court did not advise Mr. Ferrel of the statutory minimum and maximum sentence, the record shows that he was advised of the statutory range in both the indictment and the plea agreement. Thus, he was not actually deprived of the substantive material information mandated by Rule 11. Second, the district court did properly inform Mr. Ferrel of the applicable Guidelines range, and his sentence ultimately fell at the bottom of that range. Thus, he cannot argue that the court's error led him to expect a sentence other than the one he received, which might have influenced his decision to plead guilty. Finally, on appeal, Mr. Ferrel makes absolutely no argument that absent the district court's error he would not have pleaded guilty. Instead, he states only in conclusory fashion that the district court's error affected his substantial rights. Accordingly, Mr. Ferrel has not shown that the district court's failure to inform him of the statutory minimum and maximum sentence constituted reversible plain error.