United States v. Hull

Citation: 359 F. App'x 287Docket: No. 07-3736

Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; November 3, 2009; Federal Appellate Court

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David Wayne Hull, identified as the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, was originally sentenced to 144 months imprisonment after being convicted on seven of ten federal counts related to firearms and explosives. Following a successful appeal that vacated one count, Hull was resentenced to 130 months. Hull appealed again, arguing two points of error regarding this resentencing.

First, Hull contended that the District Court erred by not allowing him to review the presentence report prior to re-sentencing. However, the court found that Hull had previously reviewed and discussed this unaltered report with his attorney, and he failed to object during the original sentencing. The court reiterated that the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(3)(A) does not impose an absolute requirement for the court to verify whether the defendant has read the report, and Hull's prior acknowledgment of reviewing it negated his claim of error. The court concluded that there was no evidence of plain error affecting Hull's rights.

Second, Hull raised an ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on his attorney’s failure to object to the lack of an opportunity to review the presentence report. The court noted that such claims are typically not addressed on direct appeal unless there is clear evidence of deficient performance and prejudice. The court found no extraordinary circumstances warranting a review of this claim at this stage.

In summary, the court affirmed the 130-month sentence imposed by the District Court and stated that Hull could pursue his ineffective assistance of counsel claim in future collateral proceedings.