Filed: Mar. 10, 2020
Latest Update: Mar. 10, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 19-4452 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. FLORIN BADEA, a/k/a Fernando Badea, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Charleston. Richard Mark Gergel, District Judge. (2:18-cr-00594-RMG-1) Submitted: February 28, 2020 Decided: March 10, 2020 Before MOTZ, DIAZ, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. John M. Ervin
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 19-4452 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. FLORIN BADEA, a/k/a Fernando Badea, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Charleston. Richard Mark Gergel, District Judge. (2:18-cr-00594-RMG-1) Submitted: February 28, 2020 Decided: March 10, 2020 Before MOTZ, DIAZ, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. John M. Ervin,..
More
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 19-4452
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
FLORIN BADEA, a/k/a Fernando Badea,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
Charleston. Richard Mark Gergel, District Judge. (2:18-cr-00594-RMG-1)
Submitted: February 28, 2020 Decided: March 10, 2020
Before MOTZ, DIAZ, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
John M. Ervin, III, ERVIN LAW OFFICE, Darlington, South Carolina, for Appellant.
Michael Rhett DeHart, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY, Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Florin Badea appeals his conviction and 46-month sentence imposed after his guilty
plea, pursuant to a plea agreement, to use of an unauthorized access device, in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(2) (2018). Badea’s attorney has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v.
California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967), stating that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal
but questioning whether the district court complied with Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 and whether
Badea’s sentence is reasonable. Although advised of his right to do so, Badea did not file
a pro se supplemental brief. We affirm.
Because Badea did not move in the district court to withdraw his guilty plea, the
acceptance of his guilty plea is reviewed for plain error only. United States v. Williams,
811 F.3d 621, 622 (4th Cir. 2016). To establish plain error, Badea must establish that “(1)
an error was made; (2) the error is plain; (3) the error affects substantial rights; and (4) the
error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.”
United States v. Harris,
890 F.3d 480, 491 (4th Cir. 2018) (internal quotation marks
omitted). In the guilty plea context, a defendant meets his burden to establish that a plain
error affected his substantial rights by showing a reasonable probability that he would not
have pled guilty but for the district court’s Rule 11 omissions. United States v. Sanya,
774
F.3d 812, 815-16 (4th Cir. 2014).
Our review of the transcript of the guilty plea hearing leads us to conclude that the
district court fully complied with Rule 11. The district court ensured that the plea was
supported by an independent basis in fact and that Badea entered the plea knowingly and
voluntarily and with an understanding of the consequences. See United States v. DeFusco,
2
949 F.2d 114, 116, 120 (4th Cir. 1991). Accordingly, we discern no plain error in the
district court’s acceptance of Badea’s guilty plea.
We review Badea’s sentence for both procedural and substantive reasonableness
“under a deferential abuse of discretion standard.” Gall v. United States,
552 U.S. 38, 51
(2007). We “first ensure that the district court committed no significant procedural error,
such as failing to calculate (or improperly calculating) the [Sentencing] Guidelines
range, . . . failing to consider the [18 U.S.C.] § 3553(a) [(2018)] factors, . . . or failing to
adequately explain the chosen sentence.” Id.; see 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). If there is no
significant procedural error, we then consider the sentence’s substantive reasonableness
under “the totality of the circumstances.”
Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. We presume that a sentence
within a properly calculated Guidelines range is substantively reasonable, and a defendant
may rebut this presumption only “by showing that the sentence is unreasonable when
measured against the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors.” United States v. Louthian,
756 F.3d
295, 306 (4th Cir. 2014).
Having carefully reviewed the record, we conclude that Badea’s sentence is
procedurally and substantively reasonable. The district court properly calculated the
advisory Sentencing Guidelines range and sufficiently explained its reasons for imposing
the sentence Badea received. Furthermore, Badea has not made the showing necessary to
rebut the presumption of reasonableness that we afford his within-Guidelines-range
sentence.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have
found no meritorious grounds for appeal. We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.
3
This court requires that counsel inform Badea, in writing, of the right to petition the
Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If Badea 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 Badea.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
AFFRIMED
4