US v. James Alford

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 4:10-cr-00066-RBH-2 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998678353].. [11-4075]

Appeal: 11-4075

Document: 27

Date Filed: 09/15/2011

Page: 1 of 4

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 11-4075

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
JAMES CURTIS ALFORD, a/k/a Carwash,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Florence. R. Bryan Harwell, District Judge.
(4:10-cr-00066-RBH-2)

Submitted:

September 13, 2011

Decided:

September 15, 2011

Before AGEE, DAVIS, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

John Wesley Locklair, III, LOCKLAIR & LOCKLAIR, PC, Columbia,
South Carolina, for Appellant. Alfred William Walker Bethea,
Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, Florence, South Carolina,
for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
James

Curtis

Alford

pleaded

guilty,

pursuant

to

a

written plea agreement, to possession with intent to distribute
and

distribution

of

five

grams

or

more

of

violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (2006).

cocaine

base,

in

Alford was sentenced

to the statutory mandatory minimum of 120 months’ imprisonment.
See

21

U.S.C.A.

§

841(b)(1)(B)

(West

1999

&

Supp.

2009)

(prescribing ten-year minimum for cases involving five grams or
more of cocaine base and prior felony drug conviction) (current
version

at

Appellate

21

U.S.C.A.

counsel

§

filed

841(b)(1)(B)
a

brief

(West

pursuant

Supp.
to

2011)).

Anders

v.

California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), in which he asserts there are
no meritorious issues for appeal but questions the adequacy of
the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 hearing.

Finding no error, we affirm.

Because the Government has not sought enforcement of
the appellate waiver, we are not precluded from reviewing the
United States v. Poindexter, 492

claims raised in this appeal.

F.3d 263, 271 (4th Cir. 2007) (stating that, if Anders brief is
filed

in

respond

case

with

“allow[s]

review”).

appeal

this

Initially,

waiver,

court
counsel

to

Government’s

perform

questions

the

failure

required

whether

the

to

Anders

district

court complied with the requirements of Rule 11 but concludes
there was no error by the court.
withdraw

his

guilty

plea

in

the
2

As Alford did not seek to
district

court

or

otherwise

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preserve any alleged Rule 11 error by timely objection, review
by the court is for plain error.

United States v. Dominguez

Benitez, 542 U.S. 74, 76 (2004); United States v. Martinez, 277
F.3d 517, 524-25 (4th Cir. 2002).

To establish plain error, the

defendant must show that an error occurred, that the error was
plain,

and

that

United

States

States

v.

v.

the

error

Olano,

Massenburg,

affected

507

564

U.S.

F.3d

his

725,

337,

substantial

732-34

342-43

rights.

(1993);

(4th

Cir.

United
2009)

(stating that defendant bears burden of establishing each of the
plain

error

requirements).

We

have

reviewed

the

record

and

conclude that the district court committed no reversible error
in conducting the Rule 11 hearing.
Alford filed a pro se supplemental brief questioning
whether the district court erred in failing to apply the safety
valve provision under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 5C1.2
(2010).

The court did not err because Alford had more than the

one criminal history point, which removes him from safety valve
eligibility.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire
record in this case and have found no meritorious issues for
appeal.
court.
writing,

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district
This court requires that counsel inform his client, in
of

his

right

to

petition

United States for further review.
3

the

Supreme

Court

of

the

If the client requests that a

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Date Filed: 09/15/2011

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petition be filed, but counsel believes that such a petition
would be frivolous, then counsel may move this court for leave
to withdraw from representation.

Counsel’s motion must state

that a copy thereof was served on the client.

We dispense with

oral

contentions

argument

adequately

because

presented

in

the
the

facts

and

materials

legal
before

the

court

are
and

argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

4