United States v. Guzman ( 2006 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
February 27, 2006
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 05-3092
v. District of Kansas
ADAM GRABEL GUZMAN, (D.C. Nos. 04-CV-3217-RDR &
00-CR-40126-RDR)
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER *
Before HARTZ , SEYMOUR , and McCONNELL , Circuit Judges.
Adam Grabel Guzman, a federal prisoner, seeks a certificate of
appealability (COA) that would allow him to appeal from the district court’s order
denying his habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. See 28 U.S.C. §
2253(c)(1)(B). Because we conclude that Mr. Guzman has failed to make “a
substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right,” we deny his request
for a COA, and we dismiss the appeal. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2).
*
This order is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of
the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel.
I. Background
On June 22, 2001, Mr. Guzman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute
500 grams or more of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and, as
part of his plea agreement, waived of his right to directly appeal or collaterally
challenge his sentence. On July 16, 2002, he was sentenced to 324 months, or 27
years, in prison. In sentencing, the court considered facts that it had determined
under a preponderance of the evidence standard.
Mr. Guzman filed a direct appeal to the Tenth Circuit, which this Court
dismissed, holding that he had waived his right to appeal or collaterally attack his
sentence and that the waiver was not unknowing or involuntary. Next, Mr.
Guzman filed a motion in the district court to collaterally attack his sentence
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The district court denied the motion because Mr.
Guzman had waived his right to collaterally attack his sentence and because
United States v. Booker, 125 S.Ct. 738 (2005), did not apply retroactively. Mr.
Guzman now seeks a COA that would allow him to appeal from the district
court’s order which denied his habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.
II. Discussion
The denial of a motion for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 may be appealed
only if the district court or this Court first issues a COA. 28. U.S.C. §
2253(c)(1)(B). A COA will issue “only if the applicant has made a substantial
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showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). In order
to make such a showing, a petitioner must demonstrate that “reasonable jurists
could debate whether . . . the petition should have been resolved in a different
manner or that the issues presented were adequate to deserve encouragement to
proceed further.” Slack v. McDaniel , 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000) (internal
quotation marks and citation omitted).
In his request for a COA, Mr. Guzman contends that the sentencing
enhancement he received based on facts found by a judge under a preponderance
of the evidence standard, as opposed to being found by a jury under a beyond a
reasonable doubt standard, is constitutional error remediable on collateral review.
He claims that the Supreme Court’s decisions in Blakely v. Washington , 542 U.S.
296 (2004), and United States v. Booker , 543 U.S. 220 (2005), apply retroactively
to invalidate his sentence. While Mr. Guzman acknowledges that this Circuit has
held that “ Booker does not apply retroactively to initial habeas petitions,” United
States v. Bellamy , 411 F.3d 1182, 1186 (10th Cir. 2005), he argues that that
holding is limited to cases concerning the allocation of fact-finding between judge
and jury. Specifically, Mr. Guzman contends that there are two procedural
protections for sentencing provided by the Blakely/Booker holdings: (1) that a
jury, not a court, should conduct the fact-finding relative to sentencing and (2)
that facts should be found beyond a reasonable doubt, not by a preponderance of
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the evidence. Mr. Guzman argues that Bellamy concerns only the first of the two
Booker protections because Bellamy relies on Schriro v. Summerlin , 542 U.S. 348,
353 (2004), which only addressed the retroactive application of Booker in the
context of judicial factfinding.
This argument, however, is flawed because Mr. Guzman’s characterization
of the Booker holding is inaccurate. Mr. Guzman contends that, under Booker ,
facts used by a judge in sentencing must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
But as this Court held in United States v. Magallanez , “[b]oth before and under
the [Federal Sentencing] Guidelines, facts relevant to sentencing have generally
been found by a preponderance of the evidence” and “[n]othing in Booker
changes this analysis.” 408 F.3d 672, 684 (10th Cir. 2005) (citing United States
v. Watts , 519 U.S. 148, 155 (1997)). Mr. Guzman’s characterization of Booker is
inaccurate, and Bellamy’s blanket statement that “ Booker does not apply
retroactively to initial habeas petitions” stands. Thus, Mr. Guzman cannot
challenge his sentence under Booker , as Booker does not apply retroactively to
collateral petitions.
Accordingly, we DENY Adam Grabel Guzman’s request for a COA and
DISMISS this appeal.
Entered for the Court,
Michael W. McConnell
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Circuit Judge
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