Vallejo-Lamas v. United States of America

Filing 10

MEMORANDUM OPINION, ORDER denying the petition to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence. Signed by Judge Abdul K Kallon on 4/30/2013. (KAM, )

FILED
2013 Apr-30 AM 11:50
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
NORTHEASTERN DIVISION
FERNANDO VALLEJOLAMAS,
Petitioner,
v.
THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA,
Respondent.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Civil Action Number
5:10-cv-8053-AKK-MHH

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Petitioner Fernando Vallejo-Lamas (“Petitioner”), a federal prisoner, seeks
to have his sentence vacated, set aside, or corrected pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255.
Doc. 1. Petitioner was convicted in this court on September 14, 2010, pursuant to
his plea of guilty to one count of unlawful re-entry after previously being deported
in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2). 5:10-cr-0262-AKK-PWG, doc. 12.
On November 22, 2010, the court sentenced Petitioner to a term of imprisonment
for eighty months with a credit for five months of time served, and supervised
release for three years. 5:10-cr-0262-AKK-PWG, doc. 18 at 2. Petitioner did not
file a direct appeal but, instead, alleges his conviction was obtained by a guilty
plea unlawfully induced or not made voluntarily or with understanding of the
1

nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea and requests that the court
“grant [him] relief to which he [] may be entitled in this proceeding.” Doc. 1. For
the reasons stated below, the court DENIES Petitioner’s § 2255 motion.
I. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Following conviction and sentencing, 28 U.S.C. § 2255 allows a federal
prisoner to file a motion in the sentencing court “to vacate, set aside or correct the
sentence” on the basis “that the sentence was imposed in violation of the
Constitution or laws of the United States, or that the court was without jurisdiction
to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum
authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack[.]” 28 U.S.C. §
2255(a). Such a motion is subject to heightened pleading requirements mandating
that the motion specify all grounds for relief and the facts supporting each
contention raised. See Rules 2(b)(1) & (2), Rules Governing § 2255 Proceedings.
However, “courts have long and consistently affirmed that a collateral
challenge, such as a § 2255 motion, may not be a surrogate for a direct appeal.”
Lynn v. United States, 365 F.3d 1225, 1232–33 (11th Cir. 2004) (citing United
States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 165 (1982)). Because collateral review is not a
substitute for a direct appeal, the general rules have developed that: (1) a
defendant must assert all available claims on direct appeal, and (2) relief under 28
2

U.S.C. § 2255 is reserved for transgressions of constitutional rights and for that
narrow compass of other injury that could not have been raised in direct appeal
and would, if condoned, result in a complete miscarriage of justice. Id. (internal
citations and quotation marks omitted).
II. ANALYSIS
Petitioner asserts that the court should set aside his sentence because his
guilty plea was unlawfully induced and was not made voluntarily or with an
understanding of the nature of the charges and consequences of his plea. Doc. 1 at
4. According to Petitioner, he “signed [his] plea with the understanding [he]
would get the low end of the guideline range. [He] got sentenced outside the
guideline range. [His] max was 77 months [and he] received 80.” Id. at 6. The
Government disagrees and contends, first, that Petitioner’s 2255 challenge is
procedurally defaulted because he could have raised it on appeal, and,
alternatively, that Petitioner’s claim fails on the merits because it is factually
incorrect. Specifically, the Government asserts that Petitioner’s guideline range
was 77-96 months and that “[n]either the government nor the district court
promised [Petitioner] a lower sentence-he entered a blind plea. Thus his sentence
of 80 months had no impact on the validity of his plea.” Doc. 6 at 2.
The court does not address the procedural default contention because
3

Petitioner’s claim fails on the factual basis. Put differently, even construing
Petitioner’s pleading liberally and finding that Petitioner’s claim is not
procedurally defaulted, Petitioner’s claim fails because the evidence demonstrates
that Petitioner’s counsel and the court advised Petitioner of his possible penalties
if he pled guilty and nothing in the record supports Petitioner’s assertion that he
received any promises regarding a potential sentence. Specifically, the transcript
from the plea hearing on September 14, 2010 shows that the court informed
Petitioner of the potential penalty he faced: “If you plead guilty or if you’re found
guilty after a trial, you’re looking at potentially a monetary fine of $250,000, a
prison term of no more than 20 years, followed by supervised release or probation
of no more than 3 years, an assessment fee of $100.” Id. at 8. The transcript
shows also that the court asked Petitioner if he and his lawyer had talked about the
sentencing guidelines and if he “underst[ood] that [the court] will not be able to
determine the guidelines sentence in your case until after the presentence report
has been completed by the probation officer and you, your lawyer, and the
Government’s lawyer have had an opportunity to review it and to challenge any
reported facts there that you believe are incorrect[.]” Id. at 9. Also, the court
asked and Petitioner acknowledged that he understood “that the sentence [the
court] ultimately [would] impose may be different from any estimate that your
4

lawyer may have given you?” Id. Finally, after asking Petitioner’s counsel about
the blind plea, the court reiterated to Petitioner, “as a potential sentence, I will not
know what the actual sentence will be until after the probation officer has done the
report. But from a maximum point of view, you’re looking at a monetary fine of
$250,000, a prison term of no more than 20 years, a supervised release term of 3
years, and an assessment fee of $100.” Id. at 10. In short, based on the court’s
review of the plea colloquy, there is nothing in it that suggests that Petitioner was
promised or had a reason to believe he had an agreement regarding a specific
sentence. In fact, Petitioner informed the court that no one had “made any
promises or assurances ... of any kind in an effort to induce [him] to plead guilty.”
Doc. 6-1 at 9-10.
Likewise, the transcript of the sentencing undermines Petitioner’s
contentions. At the sentencing, having received no objections to the presentence
report, the court calculated the guideline range at 77 to 96 months based on an
offense level of 21 and a criminal history category of 6, with a term of supervised
release from 2 to 3 years, and a monetary fine range from $7,500 to $75,000. Doc.
6-2 at 4. After making these calculations and relaying them to Petitioner,
Petitioner requested the “minimum time,” and his counsel requested “a sentence
below the guideline range.” Id. at 7. The Government, in turn, recommended a
5

sentence on the “low end of the guideline range.” Id. at 8. Based on the facts
before the court, the court found that a sentence of 80 months was not greater than
necessary to comply with the statutory purposes of sentencing. Id. at 9. The court
made this determination after considering the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors,
including “the nature and circumstances of the offense; the history and
characteristics of the Defendant...[finding that] Defendant has had multiple
reentries, and more significantly, the Defendant was engaged in criminal conduct
while he’s been in the country.” Id. Consequently, the court sentenced Petitioner
to imprisonment for a term of 80 months, with credit for his five months in federal
custody, supervised release for three years, and a special assessment fee of $100.
Id. at 9.
In sum, the record before this court shows that the court advised Petitioner
that his maximum sentence could be no more than 20 years, that it could not
complete his guideline range until after his plea of guilty, that it could go above or
below the guidelines, and that the sentence it imposed may be different from any
estimate his lawyer may have given him. See doc. 6-1 at 9. In other words,
Petitioner could not have decided to plea based on any predicted or promised
sentence under the sentencing guidelines. Therefore, the court concludes that
Petitioner has failed to show sufficient facts to establish that his guilty plea was
6

unlawfully induced, not made voluntarily or with an understanding of the nature of
the charges and consequences of his plea. Accordingly, the court finds that
Petitioner’s sentence is not due to be set aside.
III. CONCLUSION
Petitioner failed to allege facts that, if true, would constitute and entitle him
to relief under § 2255. Therefore, Petitioner’s motion to vacate, set aside, or
correct his sentence is DENIED.

DONE this 30th day of April, 2013.

________________________________
ABDUL K. KALLON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

7