Opinion ID: 4013709
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Rivernider’s Motion to Withdraw His Plea

Text: Rivernider’s primary argument on appeal is that the district court erred both in denying his pro se motion to withdraw his plea and in failing to appoint new counsel to make such a motion. He argues first that the district court should have allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea because he did not admit to conduct constituting an offense during his plea hearing and because the record 2 Of the $22,140,765.99, $837,325.62 derived from losses to NMB investors and $21,303,440.37 from losses to lenders pursuant to the real estate scheme. 16 sufficiently demonstrates that his plea was not entered knowingly and voluntarily. Rivernider further argues that, even if the record is insufficient to establish that his plea lacked a factual basis or was involuntary, the district court erred in failing to appoint new counsel to assist him in making a motion to withdraw his plea.
“We review a district courtʹs denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea for abuse of discretion and any findings of fact in connection with that decision for clear error.” United States v. Juncal, 245 F.3d 166, 170‐71 (2d Cir. 2001). Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B), a defendant may withdraw a plea of guilty after it is accepted, but before sentencing, only if the defendant can show a “fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal.” The defendant bears the burden of showing “that there are valid grounds for withdrawal.” United States v. Couto, 311 F.3d 179, 185 (2d Cir. 2002), abrogated on other grounds by Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010). “In general, to determine whether the defendant has shown a ‘fair and just reason’ to justify withdrawal, a district court considers, inter alia: (1) whether the defendant has asserted his or her legal innocence in the motion to withdraw the guilty plea; (2) the amount of time that has elapsed between the 17 plea and the motion . . .; and (3) whether the government would be prejudiced by a withdrawal of the plea.” United States v. Schmidt, 373 F.3d 100, 102‐03 (2d Cir. 2004). “Courts may also look to whether the defendant has raised a significant question about the voluntariness of the original plea.” Id. at 103 (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). Rivernider first argues that his guilty plea was not supported by an adequate factual basis because his statements at the plea colloquy fail to establish that he had the requisite mens rea to be convicted of wire fraud. Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(f), a district court must assure itself “that the conduct to which the defendant admits is in fact an offense under the statutory provision under which he is pleading guilty.” United States v. Maher, 108 F.3d 1513, 1524 (2d Cir. 1997). To this end, a district court “may rely on [the] defendant’s own admissions, information from the government, or other information appropriate to the specific case.” United States v. Andrades, 169 F.3d 131, 136 (2d Cir. 1999). A conviction for wire fraud requires that the defendant possess “fraudulent intent,” which in turns requires proof that the “defendant[] contemplate[] some actual harm or injury to the[] victims.” United States v. Novak, 443 F.3d 150, 156 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis in 18 original). “Actual harm” includes the intentional withholding of material information from investors and lenders. See United States v. Karro, 257 F.3d 112, 118 (2d Cir. 2001). The record contains sufficient evidence to establish a factual basis for finding that Rivernider intended to withhold material information. In addition to the evidence from the trial, including the testimony of victims who were unaware of the fraudulent nature of the NMB and real estate schemes and the testimony of Wade, a co‐conspirator, Rivernider signed a detailed statement of offense conduct describing both schemes. In that statement, Rivernider admitted to knowingly and willfully participat[ing] in the obtaining of monies from NMB clients in that he knew clients were led to believe that almost all of their monthly payments . . . were being made from realized returns on already‐actively paying investments when they were not, thereby specifically intending to deceive NMB clients in that he knew the clients would be placing their funds at a risk of loss more substantial than the risk represented to them, and he took their funds without insuring the clients were properly informed. G.A. 89. With respect to the real estate scheme, Rivernider admitted in his statement of offense conduct that he 19 caused to be represented in loan applications and other documents provided to the lenders a number of material misrepresentations, including, (i) the income earned by the respective borrower, which was routinely overstated; and (ii) the true earnest money payments coming from the borrower, which were routinely fronted by NMB funds at the direction of Rivernider. G.A. 90. Those admissions, combined with the trial evidence and Rivernider’s statements at the plea colloquy, establish a factual basis for finding that Rivernider possessed fraudulent intent with respect to both schemes. Rivernider’s argument to the contrary is based on a misunderstanding of the mens rea element required for a wire fraud conviction. Although certain statements made by Rivernider at the plea colloquy suggest that he did not subjectively intend to harm his victims,3 such intent is not required for a conviction for wire fraud; it is sufficient that the defendant intentionally withheld information from investors. See, e.g., Karro, 257 F.3d at 118; United States v. Chandler, 98 F.3d 711, 716 (2d Cir. 1996). Considering the record as a whole, there 3 For example, Rivernider, when asked by the court what made him guilty, stated that he “didnʹt properly do my proper due diligence and ensure that what people believed was happening was happening.” G.A. 105. When the court asked Rivernider if he knew that the NMB investors believed they would be getting 10% investment returns, Rivernider responded by stating that he “did everything [he could] to make sure that that was the case.” Id. at 106. 20 can be no doubt that Rivernider intentionally withheld material information from investors and lenders. Rivernider also argues that the plea colloquy is deficient because his plea was was not knowing and voluntary. However, sworn testimony given during a plea colloquy “carries such a strong presumption of accuracy that a district court does not, absent a substantial reason to find otherwise, abuse its discretion in discrediting later self‐serving and contradictory testimony as to whether a plea was knowingly and intelligently made.” Juncal, 245 F.3d at 171; see also United States v. Hernandez, 242 F.3d 110, 112 (2d Cir. 2001). Prior to accepting Rivernider’s plea, the district court conducted an extensive plea colloquy. The court asked Rivernider a number of questions about his mental state and understanding of the proceedings. Nothing in Rivernider’s answers indicated that he misunderstood the proceedings or was under any pressure to plead guilty. For example, the court asked Rivernider whether he had been treated for any mental illness “to determine whether [he] had a condition that could affect [his] ability to understand what’s going on, to think about what’s going on, and communicate effectively with [his] counsel and [the court],” to which Rivernider responded that “we should be fine.” G.A. 96. The court also ascertained that 21 Rivernider’s “mind [was] clear,” that he was “capable of making important decisions” on the day of the plea hearing, and that he did not have any difficulty understanding the court. Id. Furthermore, Rivernider affirmed that no one had made any promises, threatened him, or put pressure on him to change his plea, and stated that he believed it was in his best interests to change his plea. Rivernider was unequivocal at the plea colloquy in stating that he was capable of pleading guilty and understood the consequences of such a plea. In short, there is no evidence in the record to support Rivernider’s contention that he was not competent to plead guilty. Finally, Rivernider contends on appeal that his guilty plea was coerced by counsel. His fifty‐three page motion to withdraw his plea below, however, contains only two brief conclusory references to any possible coercion affecting his guilty plea. Specifically, Rivernider claimed that (1) Bergenn told Rivernider over the course of two and half days that Rivernider had to plead guilty because he had “a serious brain deficiency, brain damage,” G.A. 642, and (2) Bergenn refused to go back to trial after he received the expert’s report indicating that Rivernider had executive functioning deficiencies. Those two conclusory passages are insufficient to overcome the “strong presumption of accuracy,” 22 Juncal, 245 F.3d at 171, that is afforded to Rivernider’s sworn testimony offered at the plea colloquy. Although the record before us does not establish that Bergenn coerced Rivernider into pleading guilty (and subsequently refused to assist Rivernider in withdrawing his plea because of the resulting conflict of interest), to the extent that Rivernider alleges an ineffective‐assistance claim predicated on these allegations, he is free to raise such a claim as part of a habeas petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Courts of appeals are generally “reluctant to address ineffectiveness claims on direct review” because “the constitutional sufficiency of counsel’s performance is usually unripe for seasoned retrospection” on direct review. United States v. Salameh, 152 F.3d 88, 160 (2d Cir. 1998). When faced with such a challenge, an appellate court may “(1) decline to hear the claim, permitting the appellant to raise the issue as part of a subsequent petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255; (2) remand the claim to the district court for necessary factfinding; or (3) decide the claim on the record before [the appellate court].” United States v. Morris, 350 F.3d 32, 39 (2d Cir. 2003). Where, as here, the record is not sufficiently developed to allow us to review an ineffective‐assistance claim, we decline to consider any such claim at this stage and dismiss that claim without prejudice to the filing of a § 2255 petition on that ground. 23
Rivernider argues that, even if the record is insufficient to show that the district court should have granted his pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea, the district court nonetheless erred in failing to appoint new counsel to make that motion. We suggested in Hines v. Miller, 318 F.3d 157, 162‐63 (2d Cir. 2003), that two different types of Sixth Amendment claims are potentially at issue where a represented defendant who has submitted a pro se motion to withdraw his plea argues that he was denied proper representation in connection with the motion. One approach is based on the effectiveness of counsel’s representation at the plea withdrawal stage, and is analyzed under the familiar standards for assessing the effectiveness of counsel deriving from Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984); since such claims usually involve assertions that counsel labored under a conflict of interest, the specific rules set forth in Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335 (1980), and its progeny will generally be applicable. The other approach is based on the claim that the defendant was denied any representation at all in connection with his motion, and relies on cases like Coleman v. Alabama, 399 U.S. 1 (1970), and United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648 (1984). In Hines, we collected 24 cases demonstrating that different lower federal courts had applied each approach. 318 F.3d at 163‐64. The former approach seems preferable to us, at least on the facts before us here. We note at the outset that our court has generally utilized an ineffective‐ assistance‐of‐counsel analysis based on Strickland and/or Cuyler in such cases. See, e.g., United States v. Davis, 239 F.3d 283, 285‐88 (2d Cir. 2001); United States v. Moree, 220 F.3d 65, 69‐72 (2d Cir. 2000); Lopez v. Scully, 58 F.3d 38, 41‐43 (2d Cir. 1995). But see Hines, 318 F.3d at 164‐70 (Winter, J., dissenting). We do not believe that those cases foreclose the issue, since the approach taken may depend on the specific facts of each case or on the precise arguments made by the defendant, either in the district court or on appeal, but the tenor of our prior encounters with the issue is instructive. More importantly, the ineffective‐assistance approach seems to us consistent with both the facts of this case and with basic principles. There is no question that a defendant is entitled to counsel in connection with deciding whether to withdraw a guilty plea, which is certainly a critical stage of a criminal proceeding. Davis, 239 F.3d at 285‐86. It is clear, however, that Rivernider was represented when deciding how to proceed when he became dissatisfied with his 25 guilty plea. He had a lawyer, Bergenn, who, as the record makes clear, consulted with Rivernider about his desire to withdraw his plea, and determined that he could not properly make such a motion because there were no valid grounds on which to make it. The argument that Rivernider was entitled to have new counsel appointed at that stage, therefore, must rely on one of two propositions: that a defendant who wishes to withdraw his guilty plea has an absolute right to make a motion, and if his current counsel is unwilling to make the motion on his behalf, a new lawyer must be appointed to assist him in making the motion; or that the lawyer who refused to make the motion made a constitutionally defective decision either because she overlooked obvious lawful grounds on which a non‐frivolous motion could be made or because she was hampered by an actual conflict of interest. The argument that Rivernider was altogether deprived of counsel is based on the observation that, because the district court permitted Rivernider to make a pro se motion, he was, by definition, not represented by counsel in making the 26 motion.4 A counseled defendant, however, has no automatic right to insist that his lawyer make motions that he would prefer be made, see United States v. Nersesian, 824 F.2d 1294, 1322 (2d Cir. 1987), to make supplementary pro se motions when his attorney declines to make them, cf. McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168, 183 (1984), or to insist on new counsel whenever he and his attorney differ on strategy, Moree, 220 F.3d at 71‐72. Only a few decisions in connection with trial strategy are reserved to the defendant to make personally, see Brown v. Artuz, 124 F.3d 73, 77 (2d Cir. 1997); for the rest, strategic decisions are confided to counsel. That is particularly so when the counsel’s reason for declining to make a motion is that there are no legal grounds upon which to do so. Of course, the decision whether to plead guilty or proceed to trial is one of the decisions on which the final say is the defendant’s. The decision whether to plead guilty, however, is easily distinguishable from the decision whether to seek to withdraw a guilty plea that has already been entered and accepted by the court. A defendant need have no legal grounds, or even a rational reason, to proceed to trial. That is his absolute right, whether or not the decision to reject a 4 It is undisputed that Rivernider did not elect to proceed pro se for all purposes, or make the kind of knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel that would be necessary to do so. 27 plea bargain would appear to an objective observer to be in his rational self‐ interest, and whether or not he has a legally viable defense. Once a plea is entered and accepted, however, the situation has changed. At that point, the defendant must make an application to the court, which may deny the motion unless sufficient legal grounds to grant it have been shown. See, e.g., United States v. Doe, 537 F.3d 204, 210‐11 (2d Cir. 2008); United States v. Torres, 129 F.3d 710, 715 (2d Cir. 1997); see also Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B). Whether such grounds exist is a legal question, on which counsel’s professional expertise must be brought to bear. If counsel declines to make the motion, it does not follow that the defendant has a right to make a motion on his own behalf, or to demand that the court appoint substitute counsel. A defendant has a right either to counsel or to proceed pro se, Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 834 (1975), but has no right to “hybrid” representation, in which he is represented by counsel from time to time, but may slip into pro se mode for selected presentations.5 See Clark v. Perez, 510 5 We do not suggest that district courts lack discretion to hear from a represented defendant personally, nor do we criticize the district court for allowing Rivernider to make his pro se submission. We note only that Rivernider did not have a right to insist that the district court hear his application. Rivernider was not denied the assistance of counsel; rather, he was permitted to make a pro se application that he need not have been allowed to make. 28 F.3d 382, 395 (2d Cir. 2008). And it is well settled that a defendant may not disrupt proceedings by demanding new counsel whenever he differs from his lawyer’s strategic, legal, or ethical judgments about how to conduct a case. To hold that a defendant who wishes to withdraw his already‐accepted guilty plea has a right to do so with the assistance of counsel would either require defense counsel to make motions they regard as frivolous, or to require district courts to appoint new counsel for that purpose in every case in which a defendant has “buyerʹs remorse” about having accepted a plea agreement. Accordingly, we conclude that the proper question, where a defendant’s lawyer declines to move on the defendant’s behalf to withdraw a guilty plea, is whether the lawyer’s judgment fell outside the bounds of professional competence, so as to constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. In this case, we have already rejected on the merits Rivernider’s claim that he had shown cause to withdraw his guilty plea. The only remaining basis in the record for an argument that Rivernider was denied the assistance of counsel in making a plea withdrawal motion is Bergenn’s purported conflict of interest. A defendant who argues that his counsel was constitutionally ineffective ordinarily “must establish both that counsel’s conduct fell below an objective 29 standard of reasonableness and that but for this deficient conduct, the result of the trial would have been different, under the familiar standard established by Strickland.” United States v. Armienti, 234 F.3d 820, 824 (2d Cir. 2000). “However, where a defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim is based on an alleged conflict of interest, a defendant is entitled to a presumption of prejudice if he can demonstrate that his attorney labored under an actual conflict of interest and that the actual conflict of interest adversely affected his lawyer’s performance.” United States v. Davis, 239 F.3d 283, 286 (2d Cir. 2001) (internal quotation marks omitted). The defendant thus need only prove that some “plausible alternative defense strategy or tactic might have been pursued.” United States v. Levy, 25 F.3d 146, 157 (internal quotation marks omitted). Further, when “the court is sufficiently apprised of even the possibility of a conflict of interest, the court has an inquiry obligation, and must disqualify the attorney or obtain a waiver from his or her client if the inquiry reveals that an actual or potential conflict exists.” Armienti, 234 F.3d at 823 (2d Cir. 2000) (alterations, citation, and internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, allegations that counsel coerced a defendant’s guilty plea, if adequately set forth, are sufficient to allege an actual conflict of interest and the 30 defendant has the right to have substitute counsel appointed to make the motion to withdraw the plea unless the defendant has “waive[d] his right to conflict‐free counsel or his right to counsel altogether.” Davis, 239 F.3d at 287. The right to substitute counsel is not automatic simply because the defendant asserts that there was coercion. Id. at 286 (noting that the “mere accusation of coercion” does not create a conflict of interest); Armienti, 234 F.3d at 823 (requiring the court to “inquir[e]” into possible conflicts of interest, and relieve counsel, or obtain a waiver, only where that inquiry reveals an actual conflict). The district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to appoint substitute counsel before or after Rivernider submitted his pro se motion. Bergenn initially moved to withdraw as counsel on December 10, 2013. That motion was denied as it did not include any justification for the withdrawal. Two days later, Bergenn requested that the court permit Rivernider to file a pro se motion seeking to withdraw his plea as Bergenn did not believe there was a non‐frivolous basis for making such a motion. Although Bergenn did not specify the precise ground for the pro se motion, Bergenn stated that Rivernider “has reported to counsel that he has read voluminous other decided cases within which there is language that states things such as a requirement that to be guilty 31 of a crime a defendant must be found to have intended to cause harm.” G.A 591. Nothing in either motion indicated that attorney coercion was a potential basis for Rivernider’s plea withdrawal motion. The district court subsequently permitted Rivernider to file a pro se motion, which Rivernider filed on December 16, 2013. In that submission – which contains fifty‐three pages of written text and additional pages of exhibits – Rivernider makes only two brief references to any potential coercion: first, that Rivernider “spent 2.5 days with Mr. Bergenn being told that he had a serious deficiency, brain damage, and that he had to plead guilty because of it,” G.A. 642, and second, that Bergenn refused to go back to trial after learning of Rivernider’s executive functioning deficiencies.6 Rivernider also argued his motion before the court on December 18. Rivernider spoke at some length,7 but made no reference to Bergenn’s alleged misconduct, arguing instead that he lacked the mens rea necessary to have committed wire fraud and that the evidence presented to the grand jury was fraudulent. The district court denied Rivernider’s motion to withdraw the guilty plea, noting that although it was concerned about the 6 Those two passages appear on the forty‐sixth and forty‐eighth pages of Rivernider’s motion. 7 The transcript of Rivernider’s comments to the court spans twenty pages. 32 allegations against Bergenn, they were insufficient to warrant any relief as they were conclusory and contrary to Rivernider’s sworn testimony. The district court did not err in failing to appoint substitute counsel to assist Rivernider in making a motion to withdraw his plea at any point in that process. First, the district court did not err in denying Bergenn’s initial motion to withdraw, which contained no basis for granting the motion. Second, there can be no error in failing to appoint substitute counsel before Rivernider filed his pro se motion as there was no indication in any of the previous filings that attorney misconduct was a possible basis for the projected motion. Third, the district court did not err in allowing Rivernider to file his motion pro se, as it gave Rivernider an opportunity to set forth any meritorious grounds for withdrawing his plea. Finally, the district court did not err in failing to appoint substitute counsel after receiving the pro se motion and hearing Rivernider speak in support of that motion. Although a defendant need not prove – without the benefit of counsel – that he was actually coerced into pleading guilty in order to obtain substitute counsel for the purpose of making a motion to withdraw a guilty plea, where the defendant makes only conclusory allegations of coercion, the district court may 33 satisfy its inquiry obligation without conducting an evidentiary hearing or appointing new counsel, so long as the district court adequately evaluates whether “the facts as alleged support a finding of a conflict.” See Davis, 239 F.3d at 287. Rivernider’s passing references to Bergenn’s conduct, buried within a lengthy and otherwise irrelevant submission, contain no specific factual allegations. Such conclusory assertions of coercion, standing alone, do not suffice to allege an actual conflict of interest. Moreover, the district court’s comments on the record make it clear that the court did not ignore the possibility of coercion, but determined – in light of the record available at the time – that the allegations were not plausible. Under these circumstances, the district court did not err in declining to appoint new counsel. Accordingly, we reject Rivernider’s challenges to his convictions based on the inadequacy of his plea although, as discussed above, that conclusion is without prejudice to any § 2255 motion Rivernider may make on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel.