Opinion ID: 678890
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Attempt to Challenge Prior Convictions

Text: 49 At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, Burrows attempted to file with the court a motion attacking the validity of his prior convictions. The motion was eventually filed, but the district court never ruled on it. Burrows contends on appeal that the district court was required to consider the motion under United States v. Vea-Gonzales, 999 F.2d 1326 (9th Cir.1993), and to make findings as to controverted facts pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(c)(3)(D). 50 After the briefs in this case were filed, the Supreme Court decided Custis v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1732, 128 L.Ed.2d 517 (1994), in which it held that defendants have no statutory or constitutional right collaterally to attack, at sentencing, prior convictions used for sentence enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(e). The Custis Court recognized a single exception to the rule it announced: a defendant still has a constitutional right collaterally to attack a prior conviction ostensibly obtained in violation of the defendant's right to appointed counsel under Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963). Custis, --- U.S. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 1738. 51 Burrows, unlike the defendant in Custis, was sentenced under the Sentencing Guidelines, not the ACCA. Burrows is correct that we held in Vea-Gonzales that a defendant has a constitutional right collaterally to attack prior convictions used for sentence enhancement under U.S.S.G. Sec. 4B1.1, the Sentencing Guidelines' career offender provision. 999 F.2d at 1333-34. Custis, however, decided the same constitutional question which we decided in Vea-Gonzales--and came out the other way. --- U.S. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 1738. Thus as far as its constitutional holding goes, Vea-Gonzales is no longer good law. 52 This leaves the question of whether the Sentencing Guidelines themselves, unlike the ACCA, provide an independent basis for bringing a collateral attack. We answered this question very recently in the negative. In United States v. Fondren, 32 F.3d 429 (9th Cir.1994), we held that the argument that the Sentencing Guidelines provide an independent source of authority for a collateral challenge is foreclosed by Application Note 6 to U.S.S.G. Sec. 4A1.2, which states that the guideline governing computation of criminal history points do[es] not confer upon the defendant any right to attack collaterally a prior conviction or sentence beyond any such rights otherwise recognized in law. Fondren, 32 F.3d 429. 9 Several other circuits have reached similar results. United States v. Jones, 28 F.3d 69, 70 (8th Cir.1994) (applying Custis to bar defendant from collaterally attacking prior convictions used for purposes of sentence enhancement under U.S.S.G. Sec. 4B1.1); United States v. Jones, 27 F.3d 50, 52 (2d Cir.1994) (same); see also United States v. Killion, 30 F.3d 844, 846 (7th Cir.1994) (stating in dicta that, for purposes of applying Custis, it [is] difficult to detect a principled distinction between the ACCA and U.S.S.G. Sec. 4B1.1). 10 53 We conclude that Burrows had no right conferred by the Sentencing Guidelines to attack his prior convictions in his sentencing proceeding and no constitutional right to attack any prior convictions save those which were obtained in violation of Gideon. 54 Burrows argues on appeal that many of his prior convictions were the result of guilty pleas entered without benefit of counsel. However, we have located only one conviction in which counsel was not either present or waived. That conviction, for this very reason, was stricken by the district court. Thus none of the disputed prior convictions in this case comes under the Gideon exception. We conclude that with respect to the sentence imposed under the Sentencing Guidelines, the district court did not err in refusing to allow a collateral attack. 55 We note that the presentence report also relied on two of Burrows's convictions for the purpose of determining the statutory mandatory minimum. Under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b)(1)(A), the 10 year mandatory minimum is replaced by a 20 year minimum if the defendant violates the statute after a prior conviction for a felony drug offense has become final. The presentence report concluded that the statutory minimum was 20 years, PSR at p 107, listing two prior felony drug convictions. Id. at pp 81-87. 56 Both Custis and the commentary to the Sentencing Guidelines have noted that 21 U.S.C. Sec. 851 confers an independent statutory right to attack collaterally prior felony convictions when the defendant is convicted under Sec. 841. Custis, --- U.S. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 1737; U.S.S.G. Sec. 4A1.2, comment. (n. 6). Thus under Sec. 851, Burrows was entitled to challenge the drug felony convictions relevant under Sec. 841. But because the sentence the district court imposed was the sentence computed under the Guidelines rather than the sentence computed under the statute, the point is moot. See United States v. McDougherty, 920 F.2d 569, 574 (9th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 911, 111 S.Ct. 1119, 113 L.Ed.2d 227 (1991). 57 We remand the case to the district court so that the court may consider whether a downward departure based on youthful lack of guidance is warranted. We affirm in all other respects. 58 AFFIRMED IN PART; REMANDED IN PART.