Opinion ID: 2977416
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Motion to Withdraw Guilty Pleas

Text: 4 Young acknowledges in his brief that the court explained the rights that he would have at trial and that he told the court that he understood and knew that he was waiving them. Appellant’s Br. at 15. Rather, Young’s complaint is merely that “the court did not talk to Young about the disadvantages of self representation.” Id. 10 Next, Young contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. This Court reviews the denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea for abuse of discretion. United States v. Ellis, 470 F.3d 275, 280 (6th Cir. 2006). A district court abuses its discretion if it relies on clearly erroneous findings of fact, improperly applies the law, uses an erroneous legal standard, or commits a clear error of judgment in its conclusion upon weighing the relevant factors. Id. A defendant does not have an absolute right to withdraw a guilty plea and has the burden of proving that he is entitled to withdraw it. Id. To prevail, Young must show a “fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B). The purpose of the rule is “to allow a hastily entered plea made with unsure heart and confused mind to be undone, not to allow a defendant to make a tactical decision to enter a plea, wait several weeks, and then obtain a withdrawal if he believes he made a bad choice in pleading guilty.” Ellis, 470 F.3d at 280-81. Rather, “[w]ithdrawal is appropriate where there is a real confusion or misunderstanding of the terms of the agreement.” Id. at 281. This Court considers a number of non-exhaustive factors in determining whether relief under Rule 11(d)(2)(B) is appropriate. They include: (1) the amount of time that elapsed between the plea and the motion to withdraw it; (2) the presence (or absence) of a valid reason for the failure to move for withdrawal earlier in the proceedings; (3) whether the defendant has asserted or maintained his innocence; (4) the circumstances underlying the entry of the guilty plea; (5) the defendant's nature and background; (6) the degree to which the defendant has had prior experience with the criminal justice system; and (7) potential prejudice to the government if the motion to withdraw is granted. Id. (quoting United States v. Bashara, 27 F.3d 1174, 1181 (6th Cir. 1994)). 11 Applying these factors, the district court found that Young failed to offer a valid reason for waiting more than eighteen months to file his motion. Specifically, the court noted that although Young declared his innocence shortly after entering his pleas in letters to the probation officer and the court, he also indicated in those same letters that he was not attempting to withdraw his guilty pleas. Further, during a conference call in February 2005, more than sixteen months after Young had entered his guilty pleas, Young’s newly-appointed counsel informed the court that Young did not want to withdraw his pleas. The court noted that despite the long delay until his actual sentencing, during which time Young was without counsel (Murry had resigned), it was clear that Young understood that he could move to withdraw his guilty pleas, given his correspondence stating that he was not seeking such relief at that time. The district court also concluded that Young had not maintained his innocence despite the correspondence, because he had admitted his guilt under oath at the change-of- plea hearing. The court found that “Young voluntarily chose to prevent Murry from being an active participant in the events leading to his entering the guilty pleas.” Thus, Young could not establish that the assistance his attorney provided was below the reasonableness standard, nor that he would not have pled guilty if his relationship with his lawyer had been better, so he could not show prejudice under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). The court found that Young had significant prior experience with the criminal justice system, having been convicted on guilty pleas of many offenses, and noted that throughout this prosecution, Young had filed many pro se motions and letters to the court which demonstrated a significant understanding of the legal system. Lastly, the court found prejudice to the Government because it would still be bound to honor its agreement with Wanda Clark even if Young were allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas. 12 Young claims that several factors support his motion to withdraw his pleas. First, Young claims that he did not have counsel until January 27, 2005, which caused the delay in filing the motion. Second, he said he was innocent on repeated occasions: in letters to Quinn, the court, and the probation officer; during the preparation of his PSR; and in his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Third, he was chronically depressed. Fourth, he had been kept in solitary confinement for years. Fifth, his pleas were induced by prosecutorial misconduct. Young cannot show that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Although Young lacked counsel from December 2003 until January 2005, as the district court noted, the record reflects that Young understood how to move to withdraw his guilty pleas, as most clearly demonstrated in his correspondence to Uhling that he was not attempting to do so.5 Further, as pointed out by the district court, during the period of delay, the district court not only tried to obtain an attorney to represent Young, but attempted to speak with Young directly during conference calls with the Government and Murry to explain to Young the status of his prosecution. Young refused to participate in either conference call. (Id.) More importantly, Young admitted in the hearing on May 12, 2005, that when he initially met with Arenstein in January 2005, he told his new lawyer that he did not want to withdraw his guilty pleas. This fact was confirmed to the court in a conference call with the court on February 9, 2005. Thus, Young cannot plausibly suggest that the delay was caused by the lack of representation. Finally, Young eventually filed a pro se motion to withdraw after Arenstein, with whom Young got along, had been appointed. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in 5 The letter to Uhling states in pertinent part: “I am not making this statement in an attempt to withdraw my plea. I make it in an attempt to gain some leniency.” On the other hand, the letter to the court states merely that: “I am innocent of these charges against me.” 13 concluding that the eighteen-month delay between the plea and the motion was a strong factor justifying the denial of the motion. See, e.g., United States v. Valdez, 362 F.3d 903, 912-13 (6th Cir. 2004) (holding that a seventy-five day delay justified denial of motion to withdraw, especially where the defendant’s alleged criminal conduct was described at least four times prior to the entry of his guilty plea, affirmatively assented to the description three times, he discussed the indictment and plea with his attorney, and he understood English); United States v. Durham, 178 F.3d 796, 798-99 (6th Cir. 1999) (stating that a seventy-seven day delay was the strongest factor supporting the denial of the defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea). Cf. United States v. McCoy, 155 F. App’x 199, 203-04 (6th Cir. 2005) (holding that the district court abused its discretion in denying the defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea despite a 133-day delay because the defendant notified his former counsel of his wish to withdraw the plea, his new counsel filed the motion within 45 days of being appointed counsel, the defendant expressed dissatisfaction with new counsel upon pleading guilty, and the record of the plea colloquy contained no evidence that the defendant was advised of the rights he was waiving). See generally, Ellis, 470 F.3d at 281-82 (noting that this Court has denied motions to withdraw guilty pleas where the delay was shorter than six months; listing cases). While Young declared his innocence, he also stated under oath that he was guilty and that he agreed with the statement of facts supporting his guilty pleas. Furthermore, the guilty-plea transcript reflects that the district court confirmed with Young that he understood the factual basis for the pleas, and ascertained the voluntariness of the pleas. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding Young’s assertions of innocence a “mockery” of the judicial system.6 6 Contrary to Young’s assertion in his brief, the district court did not find that Young had failed to assert his innocence. Rather, the district court noted that Young declared his innocence, but found such statements a “mockery” given his statements under oath pleading guilty. 14 Because Young refused Murry’s assistance, the district court meticulously reviewed the facts, the voluntariness of the plea, and the nature of the rights Young was waiving. See United States v. Murray, 66 F. App’x 600, 604-05 (6th Cir. 2003) (holding that the district court’s long colloquy in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d) and the defendant’s responses, did not support a finding that the defendant had entered his plea with an “unsure heart and confused mind”). Moreover, Young was an experienced criminal. At the May 12, 2005 hearing on his motion to withdraw, Young admitted that he had a long criminal history and that on several occasions he had represented himself. See Durham, 178 F.3d at 799 (finding that the defendant’s prior experience with the criminal justice system due to his conviction for bank robbery indicated that the defendant did not articulate a fair reason for withdrawing his plea). Also, the record shows that while Young has been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, he is an “extremely intelligent individual.” Finally, as the district court pointed out, the Government would suffer prejudice because it would still be obligated to show lenience toward Wanda Clark, even if Young did not honor his end of the bargain by withdrawing from the guilty plea. In any event, “the government is not required to establish prejudice that would result from a plea withdrawal, unless and until the defendant advances and establishes a fair and just reason for allowing the withdrawal.” Ellis, 470 F.3d at 286 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). For the reasons discussed infra, Young’s claim of prosecutorial misconduct also does not support his position. In sum, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Young’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas.