Opinion ID: 60846
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Statute of limitations waiver

Text: Lee argues first that the magistrate judge erred by failing to inform him that he had the right to require the government to prove to a jury that the statute of limitations had not expired, and failing to correct his lawyer’s misapprehension that there was no “good faith basis” for asserting a statute of limitations defense. A court’s violation of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 11 constitutes plain error only where the court totally fails to address one of the rule’s three core objectives, identified by us as: “(1) ensuring that the guilty plea is free of coercion; (2) ensuring that the defendant understands the nature of the charges against him; and (3) ensuring that the defendant is aware of the direct consequences of the guilty plea.” Gordon v. United States, 496 F.3d 1270, 1278 (11th Cir. 2007) (internal quotations and citation omitted). Further, we have held that a district court's failure to inform a defendant during the plea colloquy that he could raise a “good faith” defense to the charges if he were to proceed to trial does not violate Rule 11, as nothing in Rule 11 requires the trial judge to inform the defendant of every possible defense that he may have. Dismuke v. United States, 864 F.2d 106, 107 (11th Cir. 1989). It is clear to us from the plea colloquy that Lee knowingly and voluntarily pled guilty. 3