Court Opinion

ID: 9461811
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 22:25:22.087508+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:37:16.715949
License: Public Domain

WALLACE, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
I respectfully dissent.
The district judge asked Guthrie (1) whether his attorney had advised him pertaining to the indictment, (2) whether he was satisfied with the counsel furnished by his attorney, and (3) whether he had committed the acts charged by the government in counts 1 and 18. Guthrie answered all three questions in the affirmative. The district judge asked Guthrie no other questions concerning his understanding of the charges or the factual basis for his plea.
Rule 11 requires the district judge to establish the factual basis for the plea so that he can determine whether the facts admitted by the defendant amount to commission of the crime to which he wishes to plead guilty. McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 467, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969). In this case, the judge’s third question concerned the factual basis for Guthrie’s guilty plea but it was not adequate. United States v. Youpee, 419 F.2d 1340 (9th Cir. 1969), is not to the contrary. There a one-paragraph information charging wilful and wrongful infliction of grievous bodily harm was read to the defendant. Id. at 1344 n.3. Here, the charges were never explained in any way by the judge and, far from being short and simple, counts 1 and 18 extended over 16 typewritten pages and involved a relatively complex scheme to defraud.
My major concern, however, pertains to the inquiry about Guthrie’s understanding of the nature of the charges to which he was pleading guilty. The judge’s first two questions were relevant to this issue but did not, in and of themselves, measure up to the dictates of Rule 11. That rule requires the judge to determine from his own interrogation of the defendant whether he understands the charges against him. McCarthy v. United States, supra, 394 U.S. at 465-66, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 22 L.Ed.2d 418. The fact that Guthrie went over the indictment with his attorney establishes his understanding of the charges only on the assumption that his attorney adequately explained the indictment to him. Guthrie’s statement that he was satisfied with his lawyer does not bridge the gap; it cannot be a substitute for an independent determination by the judge that Guthrie adequately understood the charges against him. “In order to comply with Rule 11, it is the duty of the court, and not of defendant’s counsel, to see that the pertinent inquiry is made.” United States v. Youpee, supra, 419 F.2d at 1344. While “the judge need not personally explain to the defendant the nature of the charge,” id., he must personally satisfy himself that the defendant knows the nature of the charges. This he failed to do.
Although a ritualistic approach to determine the voluntariness of the plea is frequently a meaningless calisthenic, Rule 11 does require certain basic determinations, at least one of which was not met here. Therefore, I would reverse and remand with directions to grant Guthrie’s motion to vacate sentence.