Opinion ID: 755794
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: additional sources of error

Text: 26 There are at least two other factors that I believe contributed to the development of error in this case. First, I think that the particularly deplorable quality of Coscarelli's counsel facilitated the denial of his right to make a knowing and intelligent decision to plead guilty. Coscarelli was represented by three different court appointed attorneys between the time he was arrested and the time judgment was entered on his plea. Coscarelli's first lawyer, court appointed counsel number 1 (CAC1), was so inattentive and uncommunicative that Coscarelli wrote to the judge asking for help. After a hearing on the issue, counsel was nonetheless allowed to represent Coscarelli during the plea negotiations and at his Rule 11 hearing. 27 Coscarelli's first lawyer then failed to appear for sentencing. Although counsel managed to appear for the second sentencing date, he announced unprepared. At the second sentencing, CAC1 conceded that he had not served his client well, and that Coscarelli had meritorious sentencing objections which Coscarelli and the lawyer both agreed needed to be filed. CAC1 requested withdrawal and another attorney (who will be referred to as court appointed counsel 2 or CAC2) was appointed at CAC1's suggestion. 28 Coscarelli's second lawyer never took any action that appears on the docket sheet. Thirty days later, the court appointed another lawyer, CAC3. CAC3, who concedes that he never talked to either of Coscarelli's previous lawyers and that he had no knowledge concerning the circumstances of Coscarelli's Rule 11 plea until after sentencing, filed cursory objections to the PSR promising to develop the arguments in additional objections. Additional objections were never filed, and Coscarelli proceeded to sentencing. 29 At sentencing, the district court, apparently responding to arguments made by CAC3, sentenced Coscarelli on the basis of the fraud guidelines to the exclusion of the money laundering guideline and the government voiced an objection and intent to appeal. Inexplicably, and notwithstanding the fact that Coscarelli's sentence could be substantially increased on appeal, CAC3 then counseled his client to immediately file a waiver of appeal. Coscarelli's en banc brief defends the decision, arguing that it was intended to force the government to either appeal or accept the decision as final. Of course, this is nonsense. Coscarelli's waiver did nothing to reduce the government's options. It was an unnecessary and foolish attempt to influence the government's decision to appeal, which is now being heralded by the en banc majority as an excuse to ignore Coscarelli's substantial rights. 30 Second, while I realize that we have no authority to dictate charging decisions, I think it is patently clear that the government has not hesitated to capitalize on the ambiguity created by the indictment, furthered at the Rule 11 hearing, and ultimately included in the judgment. The prosecutor stood by mutely while the district court mischaracterized the nature of the charge by omitting any mention of the money laundering object. The prosecutor then failed to articulate any facts in support of the money laundering object at the Rule 11 hearing. Nonetheless, once the plea was obtained, the government sought to impose a higher sentence solely on the basis of the money laundering object. Perhaps this was carelessness on all sides, but I do not agree that Coscarelli should pay with his constitutional rights. 31 Neither is this disparity a novel scenario. For several years, the Sentencing Commission has been studying the disparity resulting from application of the money laundering guideline in multiple object conspiracy cases like Coscarelli's, many of which involve primarily criminal fraud of one form or another. 5 Although the Commission has reported out several recommended amendments, which would more closely tie the base offense level in the money laundering guideline to the nature of the underlying criminal conduct, Congress has thus far declined to act upon those recommendations. Consequently, until Congress changes the law, the money laundering guideline remains the proverbial 800 pound gorilla, which overwhelms the relatively puny fraud guideline and produces a sentence that is twice as long as it would have been had the multiple object conspiracy not contained a money laundering object. While I cannot quarrel with Congress' judgment, I do believe that the disparities caused by Congress' refusal to act upon the Commission's recommendations, together with the inherently ambiguous and ungainly indictments that are generated in such cases, place a more onerous burden on the courts to ensure that guilty pleas to a multiple object conspiracy which include a money laundering object are truly supported by a sufficient factual basis as required by Rule 11.