United States v. Harrell
Docket: No. 01-5906
Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; February 26, 2002; Federal Appellate Court
Willie James Harrell is appealing his conviction and sentence following a guilty plea for conspiring to distribute and possessing crack cocaine, which violates 21 U.S.C. 846 and 841(a)(1). The district court sentenced him to 87 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release. Harrell's appointed counsel filed a motion to withdraw, believing the appeal lacks merit but suggesting potential errors by the district court: 1. The court may not have ensured that Harrell’s guilty plea was made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. 2. The court may have improperly applied the sentencing guidelines. Upon review, the panel found the first argument meritless. A guilty plea is valid if entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently, which is assessed based on the totality of the circumstances. The record demonstrates that the district court adequately reviewed the plea agreement, the rights waived, and the maximum penalties, confirming Harrell’s understanding and acknowledgment of his guilt. Therefore, the plea was deemed valid. The second argument was also found meritless. Harrell contended that the district court misapplied the sentencing guidelines; however, the court correctly calculated Harrell's total offense level as 27 and his criminal history category as III, resulting in a sentencing range of 87-108 months. The sentence of 87 months was the lowest within the range and was agreed upon in the plea agreement. After reviewing the record and transcripts from the plea and sentencing, the panel found no reversible errors. Consequently, the motion to withdraw was granted, and the district court's judgment was affirmed.