Opinion ID: 199094
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Robert Simons' Restitution and Supervised Release

Text: 33 Robert Simons pled guilty and received a sentence of seventy months imprisonment, three years supervised release, and restitution of $908,108. He now argues, for the first time, that because he was not warned of the possibility of restitution or supervised release in his Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 plea colloquy, we should eliminate these portions of his sentence. Under these circumstances, where there has been a failure by the defendant to raise the error in the Rule 11 colloquy before the trial court, we nevertheless will determine Rule 11 compliance for the first time on appeal. See United States v. Martinez-Martinez, 69 F.3d 1215, 1219 (1st. Cir. 1995). 7 34 The government concedes that Robert did not receive these warnings. There is no question that the district court should have warned Robert of the possibilities of supervised release and restitution, as Rule 11(c)(1) explicitly requires. The omission represented a partial failure to address Rule 11's core concern that the defendant have knowledge of the consequences of the guilty plea. United States v. Bierd, 217 F.3d 15, 19 (1st Cir. 2000). However, even the partial failure to address a core concern is harmless under Rule 11 if it does not affect substantial rights. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(h) (Any variance from the procedures required by this rule which does not affect substantial rights shall be disregarded.). 8 Substantial rights are not affected by a failure to fully explain the consequence of the guilty plea where the defendant had no reason to expect a lesser penalty than he ultimately received. See United States v. Raineri, 42 F.3d 36, 42 (1st Cir. 1994). 35 The failure to warn of supervised release was harmless because Robert receive[d] a combined sentence of imprisonment and supervised release that was less than the maximum term of imprisonment of which he was warned. Id. (noting that in such cases the error is ordinarily harmless). With respect to restitution, we have previously held that where a defendant who is not warned of the potential for restitution is nevertheless ordered to pay such restitution, but in an amount less than the total potential criminal fine of which he was warned, the arguable error is harmless. United States v. Gonzalez, 202 F.3d 20, 28 (1st Cir. 2000); see also Padin-Torres, 988 F.2d at 284. This principle, however, does not dispose of Robert's claim. Although he was warned of the possibility of fines, the plea colloquy did not make clear that the monetary assessment could reach $908,108. 36 Still, there is no indication that the missing information led [Robert] to expect a lesser penalty than he actually received. Raineri, 42 F.3d at 42. Robert has never alleged that he was unaware that the restitution would be ordered at the time he entered his plea, let alone that he pled guilty in reliance on that belief. Moreover, the evidence indicates that Robert was aware at the time of his plea that monetary remunerations in these amounts could be required. At the arraignment, Robert was told that the maximum fines on each of the twenty-five counts against him ranged from $250,000 to $925,000. Finally, Robert affirmatively requested a restitution order at the time of his sentencing, suggesting that he had been well aware of this possibility at the time of the plea hearing. As the Rule 11 errors were harmless, we need not consider the unusual remedy Robert seeks (vacating the challenged portions of the sentences rather than withdrawing the guilty plea). Cf. Padin-Torres, 988 F.2d at 284 (discussing this remedy).