Opinion ID: 336334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Appellant Palmer's Attempt to Withdraw His Guilty Plea.

Text: 82 Appellant Charles Jess Palmer was charged under Counts One, Nine, and Ten of the indictment and, at the time of his arraignment on April 26, 1973, pleaded not guilty to all counts. On April 1, 1974, almost one month into the trial and shortly before the Government rested its case, appellant informed the district court that he desired to change his plea to guilty. At that time, the district court conducted a meticulously complete Fed.R.Crim.P. 11 hearing on appellant's change of plea. The district court inquired about the existence of a plea bargain; there was no plea bargain, though the Government did inform appellant that it would bring any subsequent cooperation on his part to the attention of the court. See Appendix at 34. Appellant's decision to change his plea was against the advice of counsel. Id. The district court then assured itself that appellant had been neither threatened nor coerced into changing his plea and carefully informed appellant of the consequences of his plea and the attendant waiver of his right to a jury trial and an opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses against him. See id. at 34-35. Relying largely on the testimony of Government witness Maurice Harte given in the previous four weeks, the district court satisfied itself that there was a sufficient factual basis for the plea. See id. at 36. Moreover, the district court went over all pertinent allegations in the indictment with appellant, eliciting from appellant at every juncture the admission that he had done the acts charged. See id. at 36-41. The district court specifically found that appellant's plea of guilty was knowing, voluntary, and factually supported, and further found appellant guilty on all counts. See id. at 41-42. 83 On June 5, 1974, appellant appeared before the district court for sentencing and requested that he be allowed to withdraw his earlier guilty plea. Appellant informed the district court that approximately one week after the trial had started, a Florida circuit court set aside the appeal bond that he had obtained following his conviction on state misdemeanor charges. Appellant was immediately incarcerated. See id. at 47. During this period, appellant's wife was expecting a baby. See id. Appellant stated to the district court that he had been unable to communicate with his wife after the revocation of his state appeal bond, that his wife gave birth to a child while he was confined, and that he was not able to communicate with his wife until after he entered his plea of guilty in the instant case. See id. at 48. Appellant also informed the district court that, prior to his plea of guilty, he had been involved in fights and the like while confined in the state jail. See id. The district court ruled that, even assuming the truth of appellant's allegations, he could not withdraw his earlier guilty plea. Relying on the facts as developed in the earlier hearing and its observation of appellant's demeanor when he testified for the Government subsequent to the entry of his guilty plea, the district court specifically reiterated its earlier finding that the plea had been knowing and voluntary. See id. at 56-57. In this court, appellant challenges the district court's refusal to grant his motion. 84 Where, as here, a Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(d) 39 motion to withdraw a plea of guilty is made prior to the time of sentencing, the district court possesses broad discretion to grant or deny the motion. See, e. g., United States v. Simmons, 497 F.2d 177 (5 Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1048, 95 S.Ct. 623, 42 L.Ed.2d 643 (1975); United States v. McCoy, 477 F.2d 550 (5 Cir. 1973). As with all appellate review of actions committed to the sound discretion of the trial court, our review focuses perforce on the facts disclosed in the record. We consider three of those facts as sufficient to sustain the district court's exercise of discretion, and we affirm the denial of the motion to withdraw the plea. 85 First, appellant Palmer was closely assisted by counsel at the time he changed his plea to guilty in April, 1974. See De Leon v. United States, 355 F.2d 286 (5 Cir. 1966). Indeed, the transcript of the hearing before the district court discloses that the abandonment of the not guilty plea was against the advice of counsel. We do not, of course, review the wisdom of a defendant's guilty plea; the opposition of counsel does suggest, however, that appellant Palmer was fully apprised of the pros and cons of his decision. Second, we are convinced that the district court was not clearly erroneous in its determination that appellant's plea of guilty was knowing and voluntary. See, e. g., Rosas v. United States, 505 F.2d 115 (5 Cir. 1974). The concern of appellant for his wife and child is understandable; similarly, the difficulties he experienced while under confinement bear on the question of voluntariness. Looking to the totality of the circumstances as revealed by the record, however, we remain unconvinced by appellant's attack on the voluntariness of his plea. See United States v. Barrett, 514 F.2d 1241 (5 Cir. 1975). It does not automatically follow that because appellant considered factors extrinsic to the question of his guilt, such as the unknown condition of his wife and child, that the decision to change his plea was involuntary; a rational and knowing choice would take all factors into consideration. In light of the careful and complete Fed.R.Crim.P. 11 hearing conducted by the district court, the answers elicited from appellant, and the subsequent observation of appellant as a witness, the district court was certainly correct in its view that appellant's change of plea was voluntary. Third, and of considerable importance, the interest in judicial economy militates against allowing appellant to withdraw his plea. The trial below consumed six weeks; the Government's case alone lasted almost four weeks. To allow appellant to withdraw his plea and force the Government to a retrial is a course we decline to follow. 86 By the above analysis, we do not mean to suggest that the three facts that we have focused on must be present for a district court's exercise of discretion to survive on appeal. We hold today only that where a defendant is assisted by counsel and enters a voluntary and knowing plea of guilt, and where notions of judicial economy and fairness work in favor of the Government, the district court does not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow defendant to withdraw his plea of guilty prior to the time of sentencing. 87