Opinion ID: 2708854
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Bostic’s Appeal

Text: Finally, we consider Bostic’s appeal. Bostic pleaded guilty without benefit of a plea agreement, but in doing so executed a written plea declaration. Bostic now claims that his guilty plea was involuntary because he was not informed that his guilty plea would preclude him from challenging the district court’s earlier denial of his emergency motion to continue the trial. At this point, a few additional background facts are needed: Bostic’s trial had been set (after being rescheduled once) for February 27, 2010. On February 16, 2010, Bostic’s attorneys had filed an emergency motion to continue the trial, arguing they had only recently observed that Bostic was “basically illiterate” and needed more time to ensure he understood the evidence. Bostic’s attorneys also argued that they needed more time to prepare because the government recently informed them that it was obtaining Bostic’s jail phone calls from the last six months and they needed a chance to review those calls. The district court denied the emergency motion to continue on the same day it was filed—February 16, 2010—and six days later, Bostic pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. As noted above, Bostic claims on appeal that his plea was not knowing and voluntary. “A guilty plea must be both a knowing and voluntary act.” Key v. United States, 806 F.2d 133, 136 (7th Cir. 1986). “To ensure this, Federal Rule of Criminal 20 Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 Procedure 11(d) requires that the trial judge ask the defendant specific questions concerning the voluntariness of the plea agreement. This questioning creates a record that can be used in future appeals and collateral attacks,” and that “record is entitled to a presumption of verity.” Id. Not only is the record entitled to a presumption of truth, but because Bostic never sought to withdraw his guilty plea in the district court, our review is for plain error. United States v. Davenport, 719 F.3d 616, 618 (7th Cir. 2013). In this case, the Rule 11 record establishes that Bostic’s plea was both knowing and voluntary. During the Rule 11 colloquy, the district court asked Bostic: “Has anybody tried to force you, threaten you, or coerce you or intimidate you to get you to plead guilty?” Bostic responded “No.” The court then asked: “Are you pleading guilty to this particular charge of your own free will?” And Bostic responded “Yes.” The district court also inquired whether Bostic was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or suffered from any mental impairment, and Bostic indicated he had no such issues. The court also asked whether Bostic had had the opportunity to discuss the charges and the plea with his attorneys and whether Bostic had any concerns about his legal representation. Bostic told the court he had discussed the charges and his guilty plea with his attorneys and that he was satisfied with his legal representation. The district court also detailed the many rights Bostic would be giving up if he pleaded guilty and Bostic stated he understood the court’s explanation. In response, Bostic argues that his plea was involuntary because the district court did not expressly inform him that by pleading guilty he was waiving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to continue the trial date. Rule 11(b)(1) of the Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 21 Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure enumerates with specificity the rights of which a district court must inform “the defendant personally [and] in open court.” See Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(1)(A) – (O). In the case of a plea agreement, the district court must inform the defendant of “the terms of any pleaagreement provision waiving the right to appeal or to collaterally attack the sentence.” Rule 11(b)(1)(N). But in the case of a blind plea, Rule 11(b)(1) does not similarly require the district court to inform the defendant that he is waiving the right to appeal pretrial rulings. And “[w]e have previously held that the trial court is not obligated to inform defendants of the consequences of an unconditional plea on a potential appeal.” Adigun, 703 F.3d at 1020 (citing United States v. Fisher, 772 F.2d 371, 375 (7th Cir. 1985)). Nonetheless, as we said in Adigun, it would be better for the district court to explicitly inform defendants that they are waiving the right to appeal pretrial rulings to eliminate further controversy. Adigun, 703 F.3d at 1020. But even if it were error for the district court not to inform Bostic that he was waiving his right to appeal the denial of his motion for a continuance, any error would be harmless. Violations of Rule 11 are harmless if a defendant already knew the omitted information. See United States v. Driver, 242 F.3d 767, 769 (7th Cir. 2001). Here, the plea declaration Bostic signed stated: “Mr. Bostic further understands that he is waiving all appellate issues that might have been available if he had exercised his right to trial, and only may appeal the validity of this plea of guilty or the sentence he receives.” And during the change of plea hearing, Bostic testified that he had read the entire plea declaration carefully before signing it and that when he read it he did not have any trouble understanding it. 22 Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 Bostic also said he discussed the plea declaration with his attorneys and that they explained to him everything that was in the declaration. The district court also asked Bostic if he believed he understood everything in the plea declaration, to which Bostic responded: “Yes.” Bostic’s attorneys also stated to the court that they had read the document to Bostic “line by line, and he has been through each line with us and had them all explained to him, and we answered all his questions. So I made sure that he has had it read to him, not just that he tried to figure it out on his own.” The court then asked Bostic if that was correct and Bostic said it was. Accordingly, Bostic already knew that he was waiving his right to appeal the denial of his motion for a continuance because he agreed that he was waiving all appellate issues other than ones involving his sentence or concerning the validity of his plea. Thus, any error in failing to inform Bostic that he was waiving his right to appeal would be harmless. Bostic also argues that his plea was not knowing and voluntary because he felt he had no option but to plead guilty when the district court denied his motion for a continuance.7 But Bostic testified under oath that he was pleading guilty of his own free will and said nothing during the Rule 11 colloquy which would indicate he felt pressured to plead guilty. Bostic’s 7 In making this argument, Bostic also attempts to challenge the district court’s underlying denial of his motion to continue the trial date. See Appellant Brief at 13 (“Bostic presents one challenge to his guilty plea (which encompasses a challenge to the district court’s denial of his motion to continue the trial dates).”) However, because Bostic’s plea was knowing and voluntary and he did not reserve the right to challenge the denial of his motion for a continuance, his blind plea precludes any challenge to the denial of his motion to continue the trial date. Adigun, 703 F.3d at 1018. Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 23 statements are presumed true and Bostic presents no basis for overcoming this presumption and there was no error—plain or otherwise. See United States v. Walker, 447 F.3d 999, 1004 (7th Cir. 2006) (rejecting the defendant’s argument that the district court’s denial of his motion to transfer the case to another venue rendered his decision involuntary because “he was ‘anguished and distraught’ by the imminent prospect of going to trial in Terre Haute”). Accordingly, his plea stands. Bostic also challenges his sentence.8 The district court determined that Bostic’s total offense level was 42 and given his criminal history category of II, the guideline range was 360 months to life imprisonment. The district court sentenced Bostic to 456 months’ imprisonment and characterized that sentence as approximately in the middle of the guideline range. Bostic claims that in sentencing him to 456 months’ imprisonment the district court committed procedural error in addressing the § 3553 factors. Specifically, Bostic argues that the district court erred when it held him responsible for some of the violence undertaken by the New Breeds gang, but without identifying which specific acts of violence the court was holding Bostic responsible for. We reject this argument. When addressing the § 3553 factors, “although the judge must … articulate the factors that determined the sentence that he has decided to impose, his duty ‘to consider’ the statutory factors is not a duty to make findings.” United States v. Dean, 414 F.3d 725, 729–30 (7th Cir. 2005). “As a general matter, the record must merely assure us 8 A blind plea of guilty does not waive a defendant’s right to appeal his sentence. 24 Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 that the court thoughtfully considered the statutory provisions.” United States v. Nania, 724 F.3d 824, 838 (7th Cir. 2013). Explicit findings are required only to the extent necessary to fulfill two purposes: (1) “enabl[ing] this court to meaningfully review the district court’s decision,” United States v. Marion, 590 F.3d 475, 477 (7th Cir. 2009); and (2) responding to the defendant's principal, nonfrivolous arguments, United States v. Martinez, 650 F.3d 667, 672 (7th Cir. 2011). Nania, 724 F.3d at 838. Bostic does not claim that the district court failed to respond to a “nonfrivolous argument.” The only question, then, is whether the district court’s reasoning was sufficient to enable us to review the district court’s decision. And in answering this question, we bear in mind that with a withinguideline sentence (which is what Bostic received), less explanation is needed. See United States v. Lyons, 733 F.3d 777, 786 (7th Cir. 2013). In this case, the district court’s analysis was more than adequate to allow our review of the reasonableness of Bostic’s sentence. The district court discussed, at length, the violence involved in the Bostic drug operation, including its conclusion that members of the Bostic organization murdered Devon Taylor in retaliation for an earlier shooting by a rival gang which had wounded Bostic and killed his brother. While the government also presented evidence at the sentencing hearing of six or seven shootings and that Bostic had given the green light for the shootings, the district court concluded that “I can’t say that I know that” Bostic said, “‘I want you to kill this person.’” But the court continued: Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 25 What I know is that this person [co-conspirator Davis who was involved in killing Taylor] that I think the evidence reliably shows that Mr. Bostic kept close to him. He is involved with him before and after these events. The shootings, I think it has been reliably shown that they occurred as a result of, you know, at least some of them as a result of the shooting of Mr. Bostic himself. It’s absolutely true that it’s possible that this just could be some person saying, hey, you know, somebody shot one of my people. I’m going to go shoot one of them. I just don’t think it’s particularly likely that somebody like Mr. Davis, who is involved in a drug organization like this that somebody else is in charge of, is just going to go out and do that on his own without getting some okay. I just don’t have—I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all of these people who in one way or another worked for Mr. Bostic just happened to be involved in all of this violence that somehow relates to things that happened to him. And so, you know, I’m not sentencing Mr. Bostic on any mur- ders. … I’m sentencing him for a narcotic offense, but I do think it’s appropriate for me to take into account that what I think has been reliably shown is that Mr. Bostic was involved in an organization that used violence from time to time to accomplish whatever goals it thought was appropriate at the time. And, you know, yes, Mr. Bostic is not out there pulling any triggers, I agree with that. He’s very well-insulated. He’s like most CEOs. There’s people that take the weight for him. 26 Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 In addition to these statements, the district court found that the evidence was sufficiently reliable that Bostic “bashed in” the hand of a co-conspirator for “messing up” the money count. And that it was without question that Bostic “was the leader of a drug organization of long standing that was associated with or that was part of a street gang. And you know, violence is part of running a business like that. It’s the business in the life that Mr. Bostic chose.” The district court then reasoned that it did not need to make specific findings of whether Bostic committed any particular murder because there were no guideline enhancements applicable, but that it thought it appropriate: to take into account that nature of the business that Mr. Bostic was in charge of, the fact that he has, I think reliably been shown to have engaged in violent acts himself. And I believe that it’s fair to attribute to him at least some of the violence that has been attributed to him by other people. As these excerpts make clear, the district court considered at length the evidence before it and, while not willing to find that Bostic ordered any specific murders, concluded that it was appropriate to take into account the overall violent nature of the drug business, as well as some of the violence others had attributed to Bostic. Had Bostic argued that his sentence was unreasonable—which he did not—the district court’s discussion of the § 3553 factors would be more than sufficient for us to conclude that his within-guideline sentence of 456 months’ imprisonment was reasonable. Accordingly, the district court did not commit procedural error by failing to render specific factual findings concerning the violence engaged in at Bostic’s behest. Nos. 12-2125, 12-2379, 12-2759, and 12-2975 27 Finally, Bostic challenges the district court’s sentence based on the court’s two-level enhancement to his guideline range for maintaining a stash house, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(12). But as discussed earlier, see supra at 14, Peugh holds that it is an Ex Post Facto violation to calculate a defendant’s sentencing range based on a sentencing provision not in effect at the time of the commission of the offense. Peugh, 133 S.Ct. at 2088. Because the stash house enhancement was not in effect at the time of Bostic’s offense, the district court erred in applying that enhancement. Accordingly, we remand to the district court for the limited purpose of correcting the sentencing range and resentencing Bostic based on this correct range.9 However, and again as with Gill, this does not limit the district court’s discretion to hold (or not hold) further proceedings and consider further arguments based on the § 3553 factors. We merely limit its authority to reopen the guideline range calculation.