Court Opinion

ID: 9478940
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:03:21.624623+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:43.002259
License: Public Domain

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
Although the matter may be close, I do not agree that the failure to admonish the *1312defendant that restitution could be part of his sentence was harmless error.
Rule 11(c)(1) explicitly requires that the defendant, in appropriate cases, be informed that the maximum sentence includes restitution. The district court admonished the defendant three times on November 2 and twice on January 26 that the maximum sentence that he faced was two years' imprisonment and a five thousand dollar fine. At no time before the guilty plea did the court admonish the defendant with respect to the possibility of restitution as a sentence.
The facts are that on November 2 the defendant originally tendered a nolo con-tendere plea and expressed concern about the impact of the plea on civil suits for restitution or damages. This concern about civil suits, if it meant anything, suggests that he may not have known at that time that restitution could be required as part of the criminal sentence.
The reliance of the majority on the events of February 8 as establishing the defendant’s knowledge of the possibility of restitution as a sentence is misplaced. All the discussion of restitution on February 8 took place as part of the sentencing after the defendant had withdrawn his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The plea, of course, was originally entered on November 2 and was, in effect, “reaffirmed” in the early discussion of February 8 (all of which took place before any discussion of restitution or of the presentence report). It seems to me that the majority has overlooked the purpose of admonishment under Rule 11(c)(1) — to inform the defendant of the possible consequences before he pleads. Instead, the majority has relied on statements made at sentencing, after the guilty plea was irrevocable.
The best evidence of the defendant’s knowledge before the “reaffirmance” of his guilty plea on February 8 involves his receipt of the presentence report in December or January. The report contained a Victim Impact Statement, which indicated that restitution “can be ordered.” At sentencing, the defendant acknowledged that he had read the presentence report and an addendum to it which he apparently received on the morning of the sentencing. Based on the presentence report, it may be more likely than not that, sometime before the “reaffirmance” of the guilty plea on February 8, the defendant was aware that he could be ordered to make restitution. All of this, however, involves a number of assumptions and inferences. It is not the functional equivalent of a clear statement by the court of the maximum penalty that could be assessed as a result of the entry of a guilty plea. After all, the guilty plea was entered on November 2, long before most of the events and statements relied on by the majority occurred. It is true that the plea may be said to have been “reaffirmed” on February 8, but, of course, the court did not repeat its admonitions then. Under all the circumstances, I do not believe all the purposes of Rule 11 have been met. This is not putting form over substance as the majority suggests. I am simply trying to avoid the sort of jigsaw puzzle approach which the majority has pursued and which Rule 11, by its detailed specification of the elements of the admonishment, is seeking to avoid.
I therefore respectfully dissent as to this matter.