US v. George McNeil

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 4:14-cr-00454-BHH-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999792234].. [15-4389]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-4389

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
GEORGE ANDREW MCNEIL,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Florence.
Bruce H. Hendricks, District
Judge. (4:14-cr-00454-BHH-1)

Submitted:

March 16, 2016

Decided:

April 11, 2016

Before SHEDD, KEENAN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

M.W. Cockrell, III, THE COCKRELL LAW FIRM, P.C., Chesterfield,
South Carolina, for Appellant. Alfred William Walker Bethea,
Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, Florence South Carolina;
Robert Frank Daley, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney,
Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
George

Andrew

McNeil

pleaded

guilty

to

conspiracy

to

possess with intent to distribute and distribute cocaine and
cocaine

base,

in

violation

of

21

U.S.C.

§ 846

(2012).

The

district court sentenced McNeil to 262 months of imprisonment
and

he

now

pursuant

appeals.

to

Appellate

Anders

v.

counsel

California,

386

has

filed

U.S.

738

a

brief

(1967),

questioning whether the district court fully complied with the
requirements of Fed. R. Crim. P. 11.

Finding no error, we

affirm.
Appellate counsel questions on appeal whether the district
court fully complied with Rule 11 in accepting McNeil’s guilty
plea.

The purpose of the Rule 11 colloquy is to ensure that the

plea of guilty is entered into knowingly and voluntarily.
United States v. Vonn, 535 U.S. 55, 58 (2002).
prior

to

accepting

a

guilty

plea,

a

trial

See

Accordingly,

court,

through

colloquy with the defendant, must inform the defendant of, and
determine

that

he

understands,

the

nature

of

the

charges

to

which the plea is offered, any mandatory minimum penalty, the
maximum possible penalty he faces, and the various rights he is
relinquishing by pleading guilty.

Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b).

The

court also must determine whether there is a factual basis for
the plea.

Id.; United States v. DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 120 (4th

Cir. 1991).
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Because

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McNeil

did

not

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move

in

the

district

court

to

withdraw his guilty plea, any error in the Rule 11 hearing is
reviewed for plain error.

United States v. Martinez, 277 F.3d

517, 525 (4th Cir. 2002).

We have reviewed the record and

conclude that McNeil’s guilty plea was knowingly and voluntarily
entered.

The

district

court

fully

complied

with

the

requirements of Rule 11 and properly ensured that McNeil was
pleading guilty voluntarily.
We have examined the entire record in accordance with the
requirements of Anders and have found no meritorious issues for
appeal.

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district

court.

This

writing,

of

court

the

requires

right

to

that

petition

United States for further review.

counsel
the

inform

Supreme

McNeil,

Court

of

in
the

If McNeil requests that a

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

Counsel’s motion must

state that a copy thereof was served on McNeil.

We dispense

with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately

presented

in

the

materials

before

this

court

and

argument would not aid in the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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