Court Opinion

ID: 994867
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-04 00:29:02.275513+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:10:26.874206
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.
                                                                      No. 97-4708
DENNY LEE SMITH, a/k/a Gary
Adkins,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Charleston.
John T. Copenhaver, Jr., District Judge.
(CR-91-384)

Submitted: March 31, 1998

Decided: April 27, 1998

Before ERVIN, LUTTIG, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Hunt L. Charach, Federal Public Defender, Edward H. Weis, First
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Charleston, West Virginia, for
Appellant. Rebecca A. Betts, United States Attorney, John J. Frail,
Assistant United States Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for
Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Denny Lee Smith appeals his twenty-month sentence imposed
upon revocation of his supervised release. Smith asserts that the court
plainly erred in imposing a sentence in excess of the sentencing range
set out in the Chapter 7 policy statements of the Sentencing Guidelines.1
Smith asserts that the 1994 amendments to 18 U.S.C.§ 3553(a)
(1994) rendered the sentencing ranges outlined in the Chapter 7 pol-
icy statements binding upon sentencing courts. Finding no plain error,
we affirm.

Smith was originally convicted of being a felon in possession of a
firearm.2 The district court sentenced him to serve thirty-three
months' imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of super-
vised release. Smith completed the imprisonment term and began
serving his supervised release.

While on supervised release, Smith's probation officer reported to
the court that Smith had violated several conditions of his supervised
release. At the revocation hearing, after finding that Smith had com-
mitted six Grade C violations, the court revoked Smith's supervised
release.3 Smith's sentencing range under the Sentencing Guidelines
_________________________________________________________________
1 See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual, §§ 7B1.1, 7B1.4 (1995).
2 See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (1994).
3 The district court found that Smith violated the conditions of his
supervised release because he was twice cited for operating a motor vehi-
cle on a suspended license; on five occasions, he failed to report to his
probation officer; he was intoxicated when arrested for domestic battery,
obstruction of justice and resisting arrest; he was twice in possession of
controlled substances without a prescription; he twice associated with a
known felon without first obtaining permission from his probation offi-
cer; and he failed to report for random urine screens for drug use five
times.

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was eight to fourteen months. During the hearing, Smith's counsel did
not contest the court's authority either to impose a sentence within the
guideline range or to impose the statutory maximum sentence of two
years.4 In considering the length of Smith's revocation sentence, the
district court concluded that based on the number of violations and
their repetitive nature, Smith was virtually unsupervisable. The dis-
trict court therefore treated Smith as a serious violator and sentenced
him to twenty months' imprisonment.

Smith's counsel has filed a brief in accordance with Anders v.
California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), asserting that upon the revocation of
Smith's supervised release, the district court was required to sentence
Smith in accordance with the Chapter 7 policy statements. However,
Smith's counsel also stated that, in his view, there were no meritori-
ous issues for appeal. Smith's counsel provided him with a copy of
the Anders brief and informed him of his right to file a pro se supple-
mental brief. In his supplemental briefs, Smith asserted that he
received an unfair hearing because the judge fell asleep while his
counsel cross-examined Smith's probation officer. Smith also asserts
that his counsel's failure to object to the judge's conduct amounted
to ineffective assistance of counsel.

Because Smith did not object to the sentence, we review for plain
error.5 A defendant is entitled to relief under Rule 52(b) if an error
occurred (1) which was plain, that is, one which is clear under current
law; (2) which affects a defendant's substantial rights; and (3) which
"`seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of
judicial proceedings.'"6 We find no such error here.

We have previously held that the Chapter 7 policy statements of
the Sentencing Guidelines "are now and always have been non-
binding, advisory guides to the district courts in supervised release
revocation proceedings."7 In Davis, contrary to Smith's assertions,
_________________________________________________________________
4 See 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3) (1994).
5 See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b).
6 United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732-37 (1993) (quoting United
States v. Atkinson, 297 U.S. 157, 160 (1936)).
7 United States v. Davis, 53 F.3d 638, 642 (4th Cir. 1995).

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this court expressed the view that the Chapter 7 policy statements
were not binding upon the sentencing courts even after the 1994
amendments to § 3553(a) and that district courts are only required to
"consider" them.8

Smith urges that we disregard the statement in Davis as dictum and
find that the Chapter 7 policy statements are indeed binding. For sup-
port, Smith relies on United States v. Plunkett , 94 F.3d 517, 519 (9th
Cir. 1996). Plunkett held that the 1994 amendments to § 3553(a) ren-
dered the Chapter 7 policy statements mandatory and binding. How-
ever, only the Ninth Circuit has adopted this view, while other circuits
have rejected similar arguments.9

Since the amendments to § 3553(a) did not expressly make the pol-
icy statements binding and given the weight of authority from other
circuits on this issue, we conclude that the district court did not com-
mit plain error in imposing a sentence in excess of the sentencing
range set out in the Chapter 7 policy statements. Accordingly, we
affirm Smith's sentence.

In his pro se supplemental brief, Smith alleges that the trial judge
fell asleep during the revocation hearing while defense counsel cross-
examined his probation officer and that when awakened, the judge
sentenced Smith without explanation as to why the imposed sentence
exceeded the range set forth in the Sentencing Guidelines. We find
this claim without merit. First, these occurrences do not appear on the
record, and counsel has not acted under Fed. R. App. P. 10(e) for cor-
rection of this purported omission.10 Second, even if Smith's allega-
_________________________________________________________________
8 See id. & 639 n.1 (for cases to which the 1994 amendments apply,
district courts are merely to "consider" the Chapter 7 policy statements).
9 See United States v. Cohen, 99 F.3d 69, 71 (2d Cir. 1996), cert.
denied, ___ U.S. ___, 65 U.S.L.W. 3753 (U.S. May 12, 1997) (No. 96-
7589); United States v. Hofierka, 83 F.3d 357, 360-61 (11th Cir.),
modified on other grounds, 92 F.3d 1108 (11th Cir. 1996), cert. denied,
___ U.S. ___, 65 U.S.L.W. 3466 (U.S. Jan. 6, 1997) (No. 96-6923);
United States v. Escamilla, 70 F.3d 835 (5th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, ___
U.S. ___, 64 U.S.L.W. 3657 (U.S. Apr. 1, 1996) (No. 95-8171); United
States v. West, 59 F.3d 32, 34-37 (6th Cir. 1995).
10 In fact, the judge actually conducted his own examination of the pro-
bation officer after Smith's counsel completed cross-examination.

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tions were true, we find no reversible error. Smith does not assert that
he was in fact deprived of a fundamental element of the judicial pro-
cess nor has he shown any error that occurred as a result of the
judge's alleged sleeping during cross-examination of the probation
officer.

Smith also asserts that his trial counsel was ineffective because he
failed to object to the judge's conduct. We find that Smith's claim is
without merit. Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are gener-
ally not appropriately raised on direct appeal and should be raised in
a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West 1994 & Supp. 1997),
unless the record conclusively shows that counsel did not provide
effective assistance.11 Here, the record does not conclusively show
that counsel's representation fell below any objective standard of
reasonableness.12 Since the record before us discloses no error,
Smith's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is more properly
brought in a § 2255 motion.

We have reviewed the record for potential error and have found
none. We therefore affirm Smith's revocation sentence. This court
requires that counsel inform his client, in writing, of his right to peti-
tion the Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If the
client requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes that such
a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for
leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel's motion must state
that a copy thereof was served on the client. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately pres-
ented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.

AFFIRMED
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11 See United States v. DeFusco , 949 F.2d 114, 117 (4th Cir. 1991).
12 See Strickland v. Washington , 466 U.S. 668 (1984).

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