Opinion ID: 324404
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: irizarry's understanding of the nature of the charge

Text: Rule 11 provides: 7 A defendant may plead not guilty, guilty or, with the consent of the court, nolo contendere. The court may refuse to accept a plea of guilty, and shall not accept such plea or a plea of nolo contendere without first addressing the defendant personally and determining that the plea is made voluntarily with understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea. If a defendant refuses to plead or if the court refuses to accept a plea of guilty or if a defendant corporation fails to appear, the court shall enter a plea of not guilty. The court shall not enter a judgment upon a plea of guilty unless it is satisfied that there is a factual basis for the plea. 8 Irizarry claims that the district court did not make a sufficient determination of whether he understood the nature of the charge, because its questioning was directed not at the charge of conspiracy to possess and distribute, but rather at the charge of conspiracy to import. In support of this argument, he points to the erroneous judgment of conviction and the fact that, in its opinion denying his present motion, the district court referred to statements made by Correa when he entered his guilty plea. We think this claim to be farfetched. There was no indication that the district court had smuggling in mind during the questioning of Irizarry; the inquiry was focused rather on Irizarry's role in going to Correa's motel room to pick up the cocaine for Gonzalez. In addition, the erroneous judgment was merely a clerical error, which there is no reason to impute to the court. Finally, the charge to which Correa pled guilty was not, as Irizarry claims, conspiracy to import, but rather conspiracy to possess and distribute-- the same charge to which Irizarry entered his guilty plea. Thus, to the extent the district court's reference to Correa, in an opinion dated fifteen months after Irizarry's plea, can have any bearing whatever on the court's thinking at the time it accepted that plea, it supports the proposition that the court's questions were directed at the correct charge. 9 That Irizarry's principal argument carries no weight does not dispose of the appeal, however, for the very fact that such an argument could be made at all raises questions regarding compliance with Rule 11. If, at the time of the plea, the trial court addresses the defendant personally to determine his understanding of the nature of the charge, it would seem that the identity of the charge would, virtually as a matter of definition, be spelled out with sufficient precision to preclude the subsequent claim that the court had the wrong charge in mind. In fact, such a claim is not precluded in this case because the full charge-- conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine-- was never even identified. The closest that the court came was to identify the charge as 'conspiracy'; conspiracy to do what was never mentioned. In addition, the court's discussion of the nature of a conspiracy charge was limited to statements that 'you can't conspire with yourself' and 'you have to have somebody else to conspire with'-- hardly an adequate probing of the nature of conspiracy. Finally, at no time was Irizarry asked whether he understood the nature of the offense with which he was charged, nor did he volunteer that information, nor did he say anything from which such an understanding might be inferred. Rule 11 forbids the acceptance of a guilty plea in such circumstances. 10 The standards for compliance with Rule 11 were set forth in McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969). That decision stressed that the defendant's understanding of the charge must be established through personal questioning by the trial judge; to the extent that he 'resorts to 'assumptions' not based upon recorded responses to his inquiries,' id. at 467, 89 S.Ct. at 1171, he fails to comply with the Rule: 11 There is no adequate substitute for demonstrating in the record at the time the plea is entered the defendant's understanding of the nature of the charge against him. 12 Id. at 470, 89 S.Ct. at 1173. 2 It follows as a matter of course from McCarthy that there can be no compliance with Rule 11 where the charge is never even fully identified. 13 Moreover, even if the charge had been identified, the court's discussion of conspiracy did not pass muster under Rule 11. Just how much explanation is necessary in each particular instance will vary from case to case. McCarthy, supra, 394 U.S. at 467 n. 20, 89 S.Ct. at 1171 n. 20. The determination will depend, inter alia, upon the complexity of the crime charged. Eagle Thunder v. United States, 477 F.2d 1326, 1328 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 873, 94 S.Ct. 142, 38 L.Ed.2d 92 (1973). 3 That was a case of assault with a dangerous weapon-- a relatively simple crime. It was held that Rule 11 was complied with where the court asked the defendant if he 'did wilfully, knowingly and unlawfully assault Moses Anderson McBride with a dangerous weapon,' and the defendant answered affirmatively. Id. On the other hand, where the charge is more complicated, more explanation is necessary. In Majko v. United States, 457 F.2d 790 (7th Cir. 1972), the defendant was charged with a crime in violation of state law on a federal enclave, under 18 U.S.C. 7, 13; the court held: 'Reading the indictment and asking whether a defendant has discussed the charge with his attorney does not satisfy McCarthy.' Id. at 791. And in United States v. Cody, 438 F.2d 287 (8th Cir. 1971), where the defendant was charged with making a false and fictitious statement to a licensed firearms dealer in order to buy a firearm, it was held that the trial court improperly accepted a guilty plea after reading the indictment to the defendant and asking if counsel had explained the charges. 4 14 In this case, the district court started out with good intentions to explain the law of conspiracy to Irizarry and elicit his understanding of such a charge. However, that inquiry was sidetracked, never to be resumed, after the following brief exchange took place: 15 The Court: Of Course, you can't conspire with yourself. 16 Defendant Irizarry: No. 17 The Court: In order to conspire, you have to have somebody else to conspire with. Is that true? 18 Defendant Irizarry: Yes. 19 This limited explanation of conspiracy does not meet the requirement of McCarthy that the court determine the defendant's 'understanding of the essential elements of the crime charged.' 394 U.S. at 471, 89 S.Ct. at 1173. Conspiracy is a somewhat complicated crime, and, while the court need not explore every nook and cranny of conspiracy law before accepting a guilty plea, 5 it must at least set out the bare bones elements of the offense. At a minimum, a defendant should not be allowed to plead guilty to conspiracy under the statute here involved, 21 U.S.C. 846, unless he understands that such a charge requires proof of an agreement between two or more persons to commit an offense under subchapter I of the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.; knowledge of the existence of a conspiracy; and an intent to participate in the unlawful enterprise. United States v. Falcone, 311 U.S. 205, 210, 61 S.Ct. 204, 85 L.Ed. 128 (1941); United States v. Rosner, 485 F.2d 1213, 1229 (2d Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 950, 94 S.Ct. 3080, 41 L.Ed.2d 672 (1974); United States v. Agueci, 310 F.2d 817, 836 (2d (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 362 U.S. 974, 80 S.Ct. 1057, 1058, 1059, 4 L.Ed.2d 1009, 1010 (1960). 5A Here, the district court's explanation did not meet this standard. 6 20 We also note that at no time did Irizarry acknowledge that he understood the nature of the charge, nor can such understanding be inferred from any of his remarks. In United States v. Landry, 463 F.2d 253 (9th Cir. 1972), it was held that Rule 11 was not complied with where the record did not show, nor did the defendant acknowledge, that he understood the elements of the conspiracy offense to which he entered a guilty plea. It would appear to be a minimal requirement of Rule 11 that the defendant's understanding of the nature of the charge be demonstrated on the record. Here, that requirement was not met. 21 In sum, the charge was never fully identified, the explanation of conspiracy was inadequate, and the record does not demonstrate that Irizarry understood the nature of the charge. Any one of these reasons would suffice as an independent basis for reversal. Taken together, they compel us to hold that the district court did not comply with Rule 11 in accepting Irizarry's plea of guilty. Accordingly, the judgment must be reversed, the plea set aside, and the case remanded so that Irizarry may be afforded the opportunity to plead anew. McCarthy v. United States, supra.