United States v. Brandon Schnetzka ( 2015 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
____________
No. 15-1752
____________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
BRANDON H. SCHNETZKA,
Appellant
____________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. No. 1-13-cr-00208-001)
District Judge: Honorable Sylvia H. Rambo
____________
Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
November 16, 2015
Before: AMBRO, HARDIMAN, and SLOVITER, Circuit Judges
(Filed: November 18, 2015)
____________
OPINION*
____________
*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does
not constitute binding precedent.
HARDIMAN, Circuit Judge.
Brandon Schnetzka appeals the District Court’s judgment of conviction and
sentence. Schnetzka’s counsel has filed a motion to withdraw pursuant to Anders v.
California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). We will grant counsel’s motion and affirm the District
Court’s judgment.
I
Schnetzka pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating an officer or employee of
the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 912. Schnetzka’s offense level under the
United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) was determined to be four, yielding a
Guidelines range of 6 to 12 months’ imprisonment. However, the Probation Office stated
that an upward departure may be warranted because Schnetzka’s criminal history did not
adequately reflect the seriousness of his past conduct and because prior convictions were
not assigned points. At the sentencing hearing, Schnetzka’s counsel argued that an
upward departure was not warranted because all of Schnetzka’s crimes were economic
and nonviolent in nature and because he was facing criminal charges in other jurisdictions
for similar crimes.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the District Court imposed a two-level
upward departure based on Schnetzka’s criminal history—which revolved around theft by
deception, forgery, bad checks, and receiving stolen property—and its finding that he
presented a “significant financial danger to the community.” App. 40. This upward
2
departure yielded a new Guidelines range of 12 to 18 months, and the Court sentenced
Schnetzka to 18 months’ imprisonment.
Schnetzka filed this timely appeal, and his counsel moved to withdraw.1
II
We begin by considering whether counsel’s brief adequately fulfills the Anders
requirements and whether an independent review of the record presents any nonfrivolous
issues. United States v. Youla, 241 F.3d 296, 300 (3d Cir. 2001). “The duties of counsel
when preparing an Anders brief are (1) to satisfy the court that counsel has thoroughly
examined the record in search of appealable issues, and (2) to explain why the issues are
frivolous.” Id. Counsel identified three potential grounds for appeal—the jurisdiction of
the District Court, the voluntariness of Schnetzka’s plea, and the reasonableness of his
sentence—and argued that they all lack merit. Schnetzka did not file a pro se brief.
Although Schnetzka’s counsel adequately explained why there are no non-
frivolous issues for appeal, we find that his brief is inadequate because it omits important
information. We first note that counsel’s introduction claims that Schnetzka pleaded
guilty to failing to update his sex offender registration. See Schnetzka Br. 11. In fact,
Schnetzka pleaded guilty to impersonating an officer or employee of the United States.
Moreover, although counsel correctly notes that the Court imposed a two-level upward
1
The District Court had jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3231. We have jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
3
departure, his brief neither describes Schnetzka’s adjusted Guidelines range nor explains
that Schnetzka’s final sentence is within that range. These omissions required the Court to
mine the record to ascertain that Schnetzka’s sentence was indeed within the adjusted
Guidelines range.
Nevertheless, we will not appoint new counsel, as we do not need further
assistance. See United States v. Coleman, 575 F.3d 316, 321 (3d Cir. 2009). After
independent review of the record, we are satisfied that there are no nonfrivolous bases for
appeal essentially for the reasons noted by counsel for Schnetzka and the United States.
The first potential ground for appeal is whether the District Court had jurisdiction
to enter the conviction and impose sentence. As Schnetzka was charged with violating
federal law by impersonating a federal agent and there is no dispute that the crime
occurred in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, his offense was amenable to the
jurisdiction and venue of the District Court. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 912, 3231; Fed. R. Crim. P.
18.
The second potential ground is whether Schnetzka’s guilty plea was knowing and
voluntary. See, e.g., Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242–44 (1969). A sentencing court
may not accept a guilty plea until it explains to the defendant the rights he gives up by
pleading guilty and confirms that the defendant understands that he is waiving those
rights. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b). The District Court fulfilled this requirement by conducting,
on the record, a colloquy in which Schnetzka asserted that he understood the nature of his
4
crime, the maximum potential sentence he faced, and the rights he was waiving by
pleading guilty.
The last potential ground for appeal is whether Schnetzka’s sentence was
reasonable. We review a district court’s sentencing decision for abuse of discretion and
will affirm a sentence imposed “unless no reasonable sentencing court would have
imposed the same sentence on that particular defendant for the reasons the district court
provided.” United States v. Tomko, 562 F.3d 558, 567–68 (3d Cir. 2009) (en banc). Here,
Schnetzka was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, which was at the top of his final
Guidelines range of 12 to 18 months.2 In so doing, the District Court considered the
sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), including Schnetzka’s criminal history and the
danger he presents to the community. Moreover, the Court explained that it had
considered a three-level upward departure, but took into account Schnetzka’s medical
history and pending criminal charges in other cases and determined that a two-level
departure was adequate. Given the deferential abuse-of-discretion standard governing this
issue, and that Schnetzka received a within-Guidelines sentence for reasons that are clear
from the record, any challenge to his sentence would be frivolous.
2
Although not raised by either Schnetzka’s counsel or the Government, we note
that the District Court never formally calculated the applicable Guidelines range, either
before or after it imposed a two-level upward departure. Nevertheless, the record makes
clear that Schnetzka’s original Guidelines range was 6 to 12 months’ imprisonment based
on an offense level of four and his 16 criminal history points. The Court’s two-level
upward departure increased Schnetzka’s offense level to six and yielded a final adjusted
Guidelines range of 12 to 18 months’ imprisonment. USSG ch. 5, pt. A.
5
III
For the reasons stated, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court and grant
counsel’s motion to withdraw. Because the issues presented on appeal lack legal merit,
counsel is not required to file a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States
Supreme Court under Third Circuit Local Appellate Rule 109.2(c).
6