Filed: Oct. 20, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-4747 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. WILLIAM EDWARD RUTZLER, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles, District Judge. (1:15-cr-00098-CCE-4) Submitted: October 18, 2016 Decided: October 20, 2016 Before WILKINSON, KING, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. J. Clark Fisc
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-4747 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. WILLIAM EDWARD RUTZLER, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles, District Judge. (1:15-cr-00098-CCE-4) Submitted: October 18, 2016 Decided: October 20, 2016 Before WILKINSON, KING, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. J. Clark Fisch..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-4747
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
WILLIAM EDWARD RUTZLER,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles,
District Judge. (1:15-cr-00098-CCE-4)
Submitted: October 18, 2016 Decided: October 20, 2016
Before WILKINSON, KING, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
J. Clark Fischer, RANDOLPH & FISCHER, Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, for Appellant. Terry Michael Meinecke, Assistant
United States Attorney, Greensboro, North Carolina, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
William Edward Rutzler pled guilty, pursuant to a written
plea agreement, to conspiracy to distribute heroin, in violation
of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), 846 (2012). The district
court sentenced Rutzler to 84 months’ imprisonment, a sentence
at the bottom of the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range.
Counsel 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 indictment properly
alleged the charged offenses, whether Rutzler’s plea was knowing
and voluntary, and whether Rutzler was properly sentenced.
Although notified of his right to do so, Rutzler has not filed a
pro se brief.
We detect no flaws in Rutzler’s indictment. Moreover,
“when a defendant pleads guilty, he waives all nonjurisdictional
defects in the proceedings conducted prior to entry of the plea,
and thus has no non-jurisdictional ground upon which to attack
that judgment except the inadequacy of the plea.” United
States v. Smith,
640 F.3d 580, 591 (4th Cir. 2011) (brackets and
internal quotation marks omitted). As discussed below,
Rutzler’s guilty plea was valid and thus any nonjurisdictional
challenges to the indictment have been waived.
Prior to accepting a guilty plea, a court must conduct a
plea colloquy in which it informs the defendant of, and
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determines that the defendant understands, the nature of the
charge to which he is pleading guilty, the maximum possible
penalty he faces, and the various rights he is relinquishing by
pleading guilty. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(1); United States v.
DeFusco,
949 F.2d 114, 116 (4th Cir. 1991). The district court
also must ensure that the defendant’s plea is voluntary,
supported by a sufficient factual basis, and not the result of
force, threats, or promises not contained in the plea agreement.
Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(2)-(3);
DeFusco, 949 F.2d at 119-20.
Because Rutzler did not move to withdraw his guilty plea in
the district court or otherwise preserve any allegation of Rule
11 error, we review the plea colloquy for plain error. United
States v. Sanya,
774 F.3d 812, 815 (4th Cir. 2014). “To prevail
on a claim of plain error, [Rutzler] must demonstrate not only
that the district court plainly erred, but also that this error
affected his substantial rights.”
Id. at 816. In the guilty
plea context, a defendant establishes that an error affected his
substantial rights if he demonstrates “a reasonable probability
that, but for the error, he would not have pleaded guilty.”
Id.
Our review of the record reveals that the district court
satisfied all requirements of Rule 11 and ensured that Rutzler’s
guilty plea was knowing and voluntary. Accordingly, we conclude
that the district court did not err in accepting Rutzler’s
guilty plea.
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We review the reasonableness of a sentence for abuse of
discretion. United States v. Martinovich,
810 F.3d 232, 242
(4th Cir. 2016). We must first determine whether the district
court committed significant procedural error, such as incorrect
calculation of the Sentencing Guidelines range, inadequate
consideration of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2012) factors, or
insufficient explanation of the sentence imposed. United
States v. Dowell,
771 F.3d 162, 170 (4th Cir. 2014). “Upon a
finding of a procedural error, the error shall be subject to
harmlessness review.”
Martinovich, 810 F.3d at 242. The
district court informed Rutzler of his right to appeal, but
failed to inform him that he could seek leave to proceed in
forma pauperis on appeal, as required by Federal Rule of
Criminal Procedure 32(j). However, this minor omission was
harmless, as it neither impacted the sentencing process nor
hindered Rutzler’s timely filing of an appeal.
If the sentence is free of significant procedural error, we
examine the substantive reasonableness of the sentence, taking
into account “the totality of the circumstances.” Gall v.
United States,
552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). “Any sentence that is
within or below a properly calculated Guidelines range is
presumptively reasonable. Such a presumption can only be
rebutted by showing that the sentence is unreasonable when
measured against the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors.” United
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States v. Louthian,
756 F.3d 295, 306 (4th Cir. 2014) (internal
citation omitted). We conclude that Rutzler has failed to
overcome the presumption of substantive reasonableness accorded
to his within-Guidelines sentence. The district court did not
abuse its discretion in sentencing Rutzler.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire
record in this case and have found no meritorious issues for
appeal. We therefore affirm Rutzler’s conviction and sentence.
This court requires that counsel inform Rutzler, in writing, of
the right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for
further review. If Rutzler 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 Rutzler.
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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