Opinion

United States v. Brown

  • 427 F. App'x 280
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Filed
May 4, 2011
Status
Unpublished
On the bench
Wilkinson, Niemeyer, Wynn
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 10.5%

The opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 10-4291

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

JOHN CALVIN BROWN, III,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle

District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. James A. Beaty, Jr.,

Chief District Judge. (1:08-cr-00388-JAB-1)

Submitted: April 21, 2011 Decided: May 4, 2011

Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Jenifer Wicks, LAW OFFICES OF JENIFER WICKS, Washington, D.C.,

for Appellant. John W. Stone, Jr., United States Attorney,

Robert M. Hamilton, Assistant United States Attorney,

Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

John Calvin Brown, III, pled guilty to possession with

intent to distribute seventy-nine grams of crack cocaine, 21

U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (2006), and possession of a firearm in

furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, 18 U.S.C.

§ 924(c)(1)(A) (2006). He appeals, claiming, first, that his

guilty plea was invalid because the district court failed to

adequately review the elements of the offense and that the

factual basis was insufficient to support the § 924(c)

conviction. Second, Brown asserts that the Government engaged

in prosecutorial misconduct. Finding no error, we affirm.

We have reviewed the record, including the transcript

of Brown’s Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 hearing, and find that there were

no errors with respect to the Rule 11 plea colloquy that

affected Brown’s substantial rights. See United States v.

Hairston, 522 F.3d 336, 341 (4th Cir. 2008). During the plea

hearing, the district court informed Brown of the nature of the

charges, the maximum penalties he faced, and all of the rights

he was giving up by pleading guilty, and found that Brown was

competent and entering his plea voluntarily. The record

discloses that Brown was adequately advised of the elements of

each of the offenses that the Government would have to prove if

he were to go to trial. We also find the evidence presented in

the factual basis to be sufficient to support Brown’s conviction

2

under § 924(c)(1)(A). See United States v. Perry, 560 F.3d 246,

254 (4th Cir. 2009), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 177 (2009).

Second, Brown claims that the Government engaged in

prosecutorial misconduct because the prosecuting attorney was

not licensed. We find that Brown has failed to establish a

violation of his constitutional right to due process of law or

prejudice warranting reversal of the district court’s judgment

arising from the fact that the Government’s attorney had had his

license to practice law suspended.

Accordingly, we affirm Brown’s conviction. We

dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal

contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the

court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

3

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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