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United States v. Catala, 4th Cir. (2005)
United States v. Catala, 4th Cir. (2005)
MODIFIED OPINION
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4624
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Newport News.
Jerome B. Friedman,
District Judge. (CR-04-6)
Argued:
Decided:
the
downward
defendant.
departure
government
motion,
The
district
for
acceptance
and
also
judge
of
granted
granted
three-level
responsibility
the
additional
absent
two-level
I.
As stated above, the defendant Catala entered into a plea
agreement with the United States for conspiring to distribute
marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. 846 and 841(a)(1), which was
the
lesser
included
offense
in
Count
of
an
eleven-count
indictment.
J.A. 54.1
Id.
agreement did not state the amount of marijuana that the government
believed should be attributed specifically to Catala.
At the sentencing hearing, the district court reviewed the
defendants plea agreement.
J.A. 70.
the
term
lesser
included
J.A. 70.
offense
as
in
the
Catala
indictment.
was
one
of
seven
4
defendants
charged
in
this
Yes,
sir.
Thats
the
J.A. 87.
J.A. 166-68.
The probation officer stated that 638 telephone calls were made
between the defendant and several co-defendants.
J.A. 166.
The
J.A. 168.
J.A. 184.
found that the defendant qualified for the two-level safety valve
reduction pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(b)(6).
The defendant filed written objections to the presentence
report denying certain trips described in paragraphs 33 though 37
of
the
presentence
report,
denying
that
he
transported
J.A. 97.
J.A. 103.
the
presentence
report
by
removing
the
three-level
However, a two-level
J.A. 118.
that the defendant had entered into his plea agreement admitting to
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100
kilograms of marijuana and that the defendant had repeated this
admission in open court at his change of plea hearing.
The
The
to
marijuana.
conspiracy
involving
100
kilograms
or
more
of
issue of drug weight at his plea hearing, and was therefore not
bound by the 100 kilogram base during the sentencing phase.
J.A.
140.
Ultimately, the district court found that only 83.9 kilograms
of
marijuana
could
be
attributed
to
the
defendant
by
II.
This
Court
reviews
district
courts
drug
quantity
United
Where a
Cir. 1996).
On appeal, the government argues that the district court
erred by disregarding the drug amount included in the indictment to
which the defendant pleaded guilty at his Rule 11 colloquy.
In
turn.
III.
Disputed facts relevant to a defendants sentence are properly
presented to the district court for an independent resolution. See
U.S.S.G. 6A1.3(b).
but
not
ascribing
any
specified
quantity
to
the
defendants
reservation
of
his
right
to
10
See
titled Overt Acts in which the United States listed specific drug
amounts
attributable
to
each
defendant
in
the
conspiracy.2
J.A. 38-39.
J.A.
54.
the facts announced at the Rule 11 proceeding and agrees that those
facts establish guilt of the offense charged beyond a reasonable
doubt.
J.A. 55.
The
To the
report stated that Catala had been truthful and cooperative with
the government after his arrest and this was not contested by the
government.
12
J.A. 66.
As
drug
amount,
defendant
may
argue
at
sentencing
that
court
concluding
clearly
erred
in
that
Catala
accepted
13
IV.
As a final matter, this Court must consider whether the
district court abused its discretion by awarding a third-level
adjustment pursuant to U.S.S.G. 3E1.1(b) absent a government
motion.
(Apr.
30,
2003),
adjustment
upon
3E1.1(b).
Feeney
a
a
district
motion
court
of
the
may
grant
government.
third-level
See
U.S.S.G.
Amendment,
the
district
court
was
bound
by
the
plain
language of the Guidelines, and should not have awarded a thirdlevel adjustment for timely acceptance of responsibility without a
motion from the government.
However, in the period between the district courts sentencing
of Catala and this Circuits review on appeal, the Supreme Court
decided United States v. Booker, __ U.S. __, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005),
severing
and
Guidelines,
excising
and
making
the
the
mandatory
Guidelines
provision
essentially
from
the
advisory.
Accordingly, we no
district
courts
determination
14
under
this
new
remedial
sentence one level lower than the advisory Guidelines range based
upon a factor listed in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a).
Even after Booker, whether a government motion (or lack of
motion) for a third-level adjustment remains an important factor
when determining whether to award the third-level adjustment.
See
id.
the
at
767
(sentencing
court
still
required
to
consult
However,
In certain circumstances,
to
make
motion
for
the
third-level
adjustment
to
this
case,
we
are
satisfied
15
that
the
district
court
See
V.
For the reasons stated above, the judgment of the district
court is
AFFIRMED.
16
responsibility
marijuana.
See
for
only
an
unspecified
quantity
of
Thus the
which
was
based
on
more
than
100
kilograms
of
of
marijuana
to
appellee
as
the
predicate
for
his
sentence.
The job of a district court during the plea hearing is to
explain to the defendant the meaning of the terms in the plea
agreement, not to alter those terms.
11(b)(1).
17
this weight range, and the government confirmed at the plea hearing
its understanding that if the presentence report [indicates]
more than [1,000 kilograms] of marijuana, then [appellee is] only
pleading guilty to the lesser charge of more than 100 kilograms.
Moreover, the district court did nothing to disparage this
interpretation of the plea when it noted that the sentence would be
based on the hundred kilograms or more of marijuana and not the
thousand kilograms or more, and when it described the offense
during the colloquy as conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute more than a hundred kilograms of marijuana.
Based on
18
Williams, 198 F.3d 988, 993-94 (7th Cir. 1999); United States v.
Lewis, 138 F.3d 840, 841-43 (10th Cir. 1998) (permitting rescission
of plea on the basis of mutual mistake); United States v. Wood,
378 F.3d 342, 349 and n.3, 350 (4th Cir. 2004) (ordering specific
performance
of
constructively
amended
plea
agreement).
One
Here there
in
the
plea;
quite
the
opposite,
the
parties
any
meeting
of
the
minds
ever
resulted
from
plea
negotiations. Houmis v. United States, 558 F.2d 182, 183 (3d Cir.
1977); see also United States v. Bradley, 381 F.3d 641, 648 (7th
Cir. 2004).
hold the plea agreement void ab initio. Although the plea document
is clear on its face, the district court led the defendant to
believe that he had an absolute right to dispute drug weight.