Filed: Aug. 06, 2013
Latest Update: Mar. 28, 2017
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 12-4989 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOSE FREDY DELCID, a/k/a Franklin, a/k/a Oscar Salgado, a/k/a Matador, a/k/a Chami, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Liam O’Grady, District Judge. (1:12-cr-00320-LO-1) Submitted: July 10, 2013 Decided: August 6, 2013 Before KEENAN, DIAZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpubl
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 12-4989 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOSE FREDY DELCID, a/k/a Franklin, a/k/a Oscar Salgado, a/k/a Matador, a/k/a Chami, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Liam O’Grady, District Judge. (1:12-cr-00320-LO-1) Submitted: July 10, 2013 Decided: August 6, 2013 Before KEENAN, DIAZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpubli..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 12-4989
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JOSE FREDY DELCID, a/k/a Franklin, a/k/a Oscar Salgado,
a/k/a Matador, a/k/a Chami,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Liam O’Grady, District
Judge. (1:12-cr-00320-LO-1)
Submitted: July 10, 2013 Decided: August 6, 2013
Before KEENAN, DIAZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Elita C. Amato, Arlington, Virginia, for Appellant. Neil H.
MacBride, United States Attorney, Sarah Devlin, Special
Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Jose Fredy Delcid appeals his conviction after
pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or
more of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846
(2006). On appeal, Delcid raises the issue of whether his
“entry of a guilty plea [was] involuntary as the District Court
did not review the elements of the offense with him prior to the
Court having accepted the guilty plea, nor inquire as to whether
he knew those elements, and understood them, as required
pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.” He contends
that the district court plainly erred in violation of Fed. R.
Crim. P. 11 and the Due Process Clause. We affirm.
In federal cases, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure “governs the duty of the trial judge before
accepting a guilty plea.” Boykin v. Alabama,
395 U.S. 238, 243
n.5 (1969). Rule 11 “requires a judge to address a defendant
about to enter a plea of guilty, to ensure that he understands
the law of his crime in relation to the facts of his case, as
well as his rights as a criminal defendant.” United States v.
Vonn,
535 U.S. 55, 62 (2002). We “accord deference to the trial
court’s decision as to how best to conduct the mandated
colloquy.” United States v. DeFusco,
949 F.2d 114, 116 (4th
Cir. 1991). In explaining the nature of the charge, “a trial
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court must take into account both the complexity of the charge
and the sophistication of the defendant.” Id. at 117.
Although a defendant must receive notice of the true
nature of the charge rather than rote recitation of the elements
of the offense, the defendant need not receive this information
at the plea hearing but may enter a valid guilty plea based on
information received before the hearing. Id. (citations and
quotation marks omitted); see also Bradshaw v. Stumpf,
545 U.S.
175, 183 (2005) (trial court may rely on “counsel’s assurance
that the defendant has been properly informed of the nature and
elements of the charge to which he is pleading guilty”).
While the Supreme Court has “never held that the judge
must himself explain the elements of each charge to the
defendant on the record,” a trial court “is responsible for
ensuring a record adequate for any review that may be later
sought.” Bradshaw v. Stumpf, 545 U.S. at 183 (citation and
internal quotation marks omitted). We have likewise refused to
require that district courts “recite the elements of the offense
in every circumstance,” as in many cases, such a procedure would
be “a formality and a needless repetition of the indictment,
which often tracks the essential elements of the offense.”
United States v. Wilson,
81 F.3d 1300, 1307 (4th Cir. 1996).
“A federal court of appeals normally will not correct
a legal error made in criminal trial court proceedings unless
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the defendant first brought the error to the trial court’s
attention.” Henderson v. United States,
133 S. Ct. 1121, 1124
(2013) (citing United States v. Olano,
507 U.S. 725, 731
(1993)). Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(b) creates an
exception to the normal rule, providing “[a] plain error that
affects substantial rights may be considered even though it was
not brought to the court’s attention.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b).
Because Delcid’s claims are raised for the first time
on appeal, this Court’s review is for plain error. See Vonn,
535 U.S. at 71; Olano, 507 U.S. at 731-33; United States v.
Martinez,
277 F.3d 517, 525 (4th Cir. 2002). It is therefore
Delcid’s burden to show (1) error; (2) that was plain; (3)
affecting his substantial rights; and that (4) this Court should
exercise its discretion to notice the error. Martinez, 277 F.3d
at 529, 532. “[A] defendant who seeks reversal of his
conviction after a guilty plea, on the ground that the district
court committed plain error under Rule 11, must show a
reasonable probability that, but for the error, he would not
have entered the plea.” United States v. Dominguez Benitez,
542
U.S. 74, 83 (2004); see also Martinez, 277 F.3d at 532.
We have reviewed the record and the parties’ briefs,
and we conclude that Delcid has failed to make the required
showing. Delcid does not show a reasonable probability that,
but for any error that potentially may have occurred, he would
4
not have entered the plea. Delcid does not claim that he was
not in fact advised of, or misunderstood, the elements of the
crime to which he pled guilty prior to entering his plea. He
does not claim he was innocent of the crime or that he would not
have pled guilty if the district court had recited the elements
of the crime at the guilty plea hearing or explicitly confirmed
that his attorney had done so. Finally, he points to nothing in
the record showing that his rights were substantially affected
by the alleged errors of the district court.
We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment. 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.
AFFIRMED
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