Filed: Jul. 17, 2012
Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2020
Summary: FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit July 17, 2012 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court TENTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 12-2010 (D.C. Nos. 1:10-CV-00718-JEC-CG v. and 1:09-CR-00489-JEC-1) (D. N.M.) DESMOND W. THOMPSON, Defendant-Appellant. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before KELLY, TYMKOVICH, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges. Desmond W. Thompson pleaded guilty to two drug charges and agreed to a 120 month sentence, the statutory min
Summary: FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit July 17, 2012 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court TENTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 12-2010 (D.C. Nos. 1:10-CV-00718-JEC-CG v. and 1:09-CR-00489-JEC-1) (D. N.M.) DESMOND W. THOMPSON, Defendant-Appellant. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before KELLY, TYMKOVICH, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges. Desmond W. Thompson pleaded guilty to two drug charges and agreed to a 120 month sentence, the statutory mini..
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FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
July 17, 2012
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 12-2010
(D.C. Nos. 1:10-CV-00718-JEC-CG
v. and 1:09-CR-00489-JEC-1)
(D. N.M.)
DESMOND W. THOMPSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY, TYMKOVICH, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.
Desmond W. Thompson pleaded guilty to two drug charges and agreed to a
120 month sentence, the statutory minimum. His plea agreement included a
waiver of his appellate rights and his attorney did not file a direct appeal on his
behalf. Instead, sometime later Mr. Thompson brought a federal habeas petition
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 arguing, among other things, that his plea was
involuntary and his counsel ineffective. In the course of reviewing the petition,
*
After examining appellant’s brief and the appellate record, this panel has
determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the
determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2) and 10th Cir. R.
34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This
order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of
the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its
persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
the district court decided to investigate Mr. Thompson’s claim that he asked his
attorney to file an appeal, but his attorney refused. To investigate this claim, the
district court appointed counsel and a magistrate judge held an evidentiary
hearing. Eventually, the magistrate judge found Mr. Thompson’s original
attorney credible in his memory that Mr. Thompson never asked him to file an
appeal, and the district court accepted that credibility determination and denied
Mr. Thompson’s petition. The court also denied Mr. Thompson a certificate of
appealability (COA). Before us, Mr. Thompson does not expressly request a
COA in order to appeal the district court’s decision, but his notice of appeal
constitutes such a request. See Fed. R. App. P. 22(b)(2).
We may grant this request, however, only if Mr. Thompson makes a
“substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 2253(c)(2). This requires him to demonstrate that “reasonable jurists could
debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that) the petition should have been
resolved in a different manner or that the issues presented were adequate to
deserve encouragement to proceed further.” Slack v. McDaniel,
529 U.S. 473,
484 (2000) (internal quotation omitted).
Mr. Thompson has not met this standard. A defendant’s guilty plea,
including a waiver of appellate rights, is enforceable when made knowingly and
voluntarily. United States v. Hahn,
359 F.3d 1315, 1325 (10th Cir. 2004) (en
banc). We must agree with the district court that Mr. Thompson has identified no
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evidence to suggest that his plea was anything less than voluntary. Neither does
Mr. Thompson give us any reason to find that the district court’s factual findings
as to his attorney’s performance were clearly erroneous. See United States v.
Orange,
447 F.3d 792, 796 (10th Cir. 2006). Accordingly, because we conclude
that no reasonable jurist would debate the district court’s disposition of Mr.
Thompson’s claims, we deny his application for a COA and dismiss his appeal.
This leaves us with the matter of Mr. Thompson’s habeas counsel’s motion
to withdraw. Todd Hotchkiss was appointed to represent Mr. Thompson in his
§ 2255 petition and now seeks to withdraw from that representation and has filed
a brief pursuant to Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967). While we note that
the Anders procedure is unnecessary in habeas cases, see United States v. Gibler,
390 F. App’x 829, 831 n.4 (10th Cir. 2010) (unpublished), we grant Mr.
Hotchkiss’s motion to withdraw.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Neil M. Gorsuch
Circuit Judge
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