Opinion
Case No. CV-06-111-TUC-FRZ, CR-05-666-TUC-FRZ.
March 13, 2006
ORDER
Petitioner has filed a Motion to "Vacate, Set Aside or to Modify and Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody, under Title 28 U.S.C. § 2255."
Rule 4(b) of the Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings for the United States District Courts provides, in relevant part, that
[i]f it plainly appears from the motion, any attached exhibits, and the record of prior proceedings that the moving party is not entitled to relief, the judge must dismiss the motion and direct the clerk to notify the moving party.
28 U.S.C. foll. § 2255.
Background
Pursuant to a plea agreement, Petitioner entered a plea of guilty to Count Two of the Indictment, which charged him with knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute approximately seventy-four pounds of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(ii)(II).
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Petitioner waived "any and all motions, defenses, probable cause determinations, and objections which [he] could assert to the indictment or to the Court's entry of judgment against [him] and imposition of sentence upon [him] consistent with [the plea] agreement." In addition, Petitioner waived "any right to collaterally attack [his] conviction and sentence under Title 28, United States Code, Section 2255."
The plea agreement provided for a sentencing range of 70-87 months. The Court imposed a sentence of sixty months, ten months lower than the bottom of the sentencing range in the plea agreement. The Court adopted the Presentence Report, which recommended a downward variance pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and a sentence of sixty months because: (1) the sentence under the plea agreement was "greater than necessary to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense"; (2) Petitioner had a limited role in the offense, had "no known previous participation in drug trafficking" and "apparently ha[d] an otherwise law-abiding lifestyle and ha[d] been continuously employed throughout his life"; and (3) the Court should consider the "need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among similar defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct."
At sentencing, Petitioner stated that he was satisfied with his attorney's services.
Discussion
The Court notes that Petitioner has apparently borrowed a habeas petition from a fellow inmate. The "Statement of the Case" in his petition bears absolutely no relation to his case, incorrectly stating the count to which he pled guilty, the offense, the sentence, and the supervised release term.
A. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
1. Ineffective Assistance in Plea Agreement
It appears Petitioner is asserting a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel relating to his decision to plead guilty. Petitioner alleges that "defense counsel misrepresented and misadvised the plea to the defendant about the condition of his plea bargain, specifically inquired by defendant, in as much as counsel knew that defendant's whole behavior and guilty plea was structured to avoid a plea agreement that would not result in a long sentence or a prison time" and that, if Petitioner "wouldn't have been mislead by his counsel regarding his plea agreement; and if defendant would have known he could be sentenced to his current term, he would have denied his plea agreement, would not have entered a guilty plea, and would have insisted in going to trial."
When a defendant is represented by counsel during the plea process and pleads guilty based upon the advice of counsel, the defendant can "`only attack the voluntary and intelligent character of the guilty plea by showing that the advice he received from counsel'" was outside "`the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases'" and was prejudicial. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 56-59, 106 S. Ct. 366, 369-70, 88 L. Ed. 2d 203 (1985) (quoting Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 267, 93 S. Ct. 1602, 1608, 36 L. Ed. 2d 235 (1973), and McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771, 90 S. Ct. 1441, 1449, 25 L. Ed. 2d 763 (1970)). "[T]o satisfy the `prejudice' requirement, the defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial." Id. at 59, 106 S. Ct. at 370.
Petitioner does not specify what advice counsel gave that fell outside the range of competence for criminal attorneys. Moreover, Petitioner faced a significantly more serious sentence had he been found guilty after a trial. He does not dispute that his Adjusted Offense Level was 32 and that he had a Criminal History I. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, the sentencing range for an Offense Level 32 and Criminal History I is 121-151 months. Petitioner has failed to demonstrate any reasonable probability that, when his "whole behavior" was structured to avoid a long prison sentence, he would have proceeded to trial facing a sentencing of 121-151 months, rather than accept a plea agreement which capped his sentence at 87 months. Accordingly, Petitioner's claim fails. See Pollard v. White, 119 F.3d 1430, 1435 (9th Cir. 1997) (Court "do[es] not have to evaluate both prongs of the [ Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984)] test if the defendant fails to establish one.").
Moreover, had Petitioner proceeded to trial, he would have also faced trial on Count One of the Indictment — importing approximately seventy-four pounds of cocaine into the United States, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a) and 960(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(ii).
2. Ineffective Assistance at Sentencing
a. Aberrant Behavior
Petitioner alleges that his counsel was ineffective at sentencing because his attorney failed to request a downward departure based on Petitioner's aberrant behavior.
To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Petitioner must show both that his counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and that counsel's deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984).
Petitioner was not entitled to a downward departure based on his aberrant behavior. Under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.20(c)(3), the Court cannot depart downward based on aberrant behavior if the offense is a "serious drug trafficking offense." The Sentencing Commission defines a "serious drug trafficking offense" as "any controlled substance offense under title 21, United States Code, other than simple possession under 21 U.S.C. § 844, that provides for a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years or greater, regardless of whether the defendant meets the criteria of § 5C1.2. . . ." U.S.S.G. § 5K2.20 n. 1.
Petitioner was charged with, and pled guilty to, a serious drug trafficking offense. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A). Therefore, he was not entitled to a downward departure based on his aberrant behavior and his attorney's failure to request this departure did not prejudice the defense. See Strickland. Thus, this claim of ineffective assistance of counsel fails. See Pollard.
b. Deportable Alien Status
Petitioner alleges that his counsel was ineffective at sentencing because his attorney failed to request a downward departure based on Petitioner's status as a deportable alien.
First, the Court was well aware at sentencing of Petitioner's status as a deportable alien. Even if Petitioner's attorney had made the argument that the Court should depart downward based on Petitioner's status as a deportable alien, this Court, in its discretion, would not have departed downward. See Lizarraga-Lopez v. United States, 89 F. Supp. 2d 1166, 1170 (S.D. Cal. 2000) (concluding that defendant's "status as a deportable alien was squarely within the `heartland' of the Sentencing Guidelines and was specifically accounted for in the early release statute"); United States v. Martinez-Villegas, 993 F. Supp. 766, 781 (C.D. Cal. 1998) (denying downward departure based on deportable alien status and noting that "the Ninth Circuit has shown a reluctance to allow deportability status as a basis for a downward departure"); cf. United States v. Davoudi, 172 F.3d 1130, 1133-34 (9th Cir. 1999) (upholding district court's discretionary decision not to depart downward based on deportable alien status).
Second, Petitioner notes that a "Memorandum to all Prosecutors (Federal)" dated April 28, 1995, instructs federal prosecutors to recommend a one or two level downward departure "in exchange for [an] alien's concession of deportability." Petitioner has presented no evidence that he agreed to accept a final deportation order. Nor does he address whether the United States Attorney for this District has chosen to make a downward departure recommendation in exchange for a such an agreement, or whether this ten-year-old memorandum is still in effect.
Finally, to the extent Petitioner may be asserting an equal protection argument when he asserts that "he will be confined to a higher security than a comparable American counterpart on accounts of factors unrelated to moral worthiness and be subjected to more severe punishment" because he is required to spend "the last 10% of his sentence [in a deportation center rather than in] a minimum security facility" and because he does not qualify for a Bureau of Prisons' drug rehabilitation program, the Court notes that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Petitioner's argument in McLean v. Crabtree, 173 F.3d 1176 (9th Cir. 1999). In that case, the Ninth Circuit found that there was no equal protection violation and held that "excluding prisoners with detainers from participating in community-based treatment programs, and consequently from sentence reduction eligibility, is at least rationally related to the BOP's legitimate interest in preventing prisoners from fleeing detainers while participating in community treatment programs." Id. at 1186.
Because Petitioner's counsel's failure to seek a downward departure based on Petitioner's deportable alien status did not prejudice the defense, this ineffective assistance claim fails. See Pollard.
c. Early Disposition
Petitioner contends his attorney was ineffective because his attorney failed to seek a downward departure pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K3.1 based on his compliance with an "Early Disposition" program. This claim is without any merit. The Court actually did depart pursuant to the plea agreement "based on § ( 5K3.1) Early Disposition Program and savings to the government by early plea and waiver of appeal."
Petitioner's plea agreement was designated as a "Fast Track 5K3.1" plea agreement.
B. Blakely
Petitioner contends that he is entitled to a downward departure based on Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531, 159 L. Ed. 2d 403 (2004).
The Supreme Court in Blakely applied its prior holding in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 2362-63, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000): "Other than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt." Blakely, 542 U.S. at 301, 124 S. Ct. at 2536. Petitioner has not identified how Blakely impacts his sentence.
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Conclusion
In light of the foregoing,IT IS ORDERED that Petitioner's § 2255 Motion (U.S.D.C. document #17 in CR-05-666-TUC-FRZ) is DENIED and this case (CV-06-111-TUC-FRZ) is DISMISSED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court SHALL SERVE a copy of the Motion and this order on Respondent and SHALL SERVE a copy of this order on Petitioner.