Opinion ID: 77585
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Factual Basis for Counts One and Two

Text: 9 Evans alleges both a due process violation and a Rule 11 violation based on the district court's acceptance of his guilty plea for threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction against federal government property (Count One) and mailing a threatening communication (Count Two). See U.S. Const. amend. V; Fed.R.Crim.P. 11.
10 We review Evans' claim that there was an insufficient factual basis for his guilty plea as to Counts One and Two for plain error because Evans did not raise his due process argument or object to a Rule 11 violation in the district court. See United States v. Moriarty, 429 F.3d 1012, 1018-19 (11th Cir.2005) (per curiam) (applying plain error standard where the defendant failed to raise constitutional and Rule 11 claims below). 11 To establish plain error, a defendant must show there is (1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights. If all three conditions are met, we may exercise our discretion to recognize a forfeited error, but only if the error seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Under plain error review, the defendant bears the burden of persuasion with respect to prejudice or the effect on substantial rights. When neither the Supreme Court nor this Court has resolved an issue, and other circuits are split on it, there can be no plain error in regard to that issue. 12 Id. at 1019 (internal quotations and citations omitted) (alteration in original). Furthermore, a defendant who seeks reversal of his conviction after a guilty plea, on the ground that the district court committed plain error under Rule 11, must show a reasonable probability that, but for the error, he would not have entered the plea. United States v. Dominguez Benitez, 542 U.S. 74, 83, 124 S.Ct. 2333, 2340, 159 L.Ed.2d 157 (2004).
13 Evans argues that the district court misinterpreted the requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 2332a and 18 U.S.C. § 876(c). Evans asserts that, because of the court's misinterpretation, he did not understand the statutory elements to which he was pleading guilty. Consequently, he contends that his plea was unintelligent. 14 The dispute centers on whether the threatens to use language of § 2332a 5 and threat to injure language of § 876(c) 6 includes only future threats, as Evans posits, or whether it also includes immediate threats of harm. While this Court has not specifically addressed the language of these two statutes, the Second, Third, and Fifth Circuits have looked at the issue, and all three found that a future threat is not necessary. See United States v. Davila, 461 F.3d 298, 304 (2d Cir.2006) (holding that neither § 2332a nor § 876 requires a threat of future action); United States v. Zavrel, 384 F.3d 130, 136 (3d Cir.2004) (expressing agreement with the district court's jury instruction that § 876 included both a future and a current intent to inflict injury); United States v. Reynolds, 381 F.3d 404, 406 (5th Cir.2004) (holding that a threat under § 2332a does not require reference to a future act). We agree with our sister circuits that the language in these statutes simply does not suggest a temporal limitation to only future actions. Therefore, we find no error in the district court's interpretation of § 2332a and § 876(c). Furthermore, even if the district court did misinterpret the statutes, the district court's error would not be plain. See United States v. Lejarde-Rada, 319 F.3d 1288, 1291 (11th Cir. 2003) (per curiam) ([W]here the explicit language of a statute or rule does not specifically resolve an issue, there can be no plain error where there is no precedent from the Supreme Court or this Court directly resolving it.).
15 Because we find that the district court did not plainly misinterpret the statutes at issue, Evans is unable to establish a reasonable probability that, but for the alleged error, he would not have entered his plea. Rule 11 requires the court to ensure that the defendant understands the charges and the consequences of the plea and that the defendant has not been coerced into the plea. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 11. Evans asserts that if the court itself was confused about the elements of the charges, Evans could not possibly have understood the elements either. We find no error in the court's understanding of the elements of the charges, and from our review of the record, Evans seems to have knowingly and voluntarily entered his plea. Thus, we find no Rule 11 violation. 16 Accordingly, we affirm the district court's acceptance of Evans' guilty plea at to Counts One and Two because there was a sufficient factual basis to support his conviction. 7