United States v. Harold Blondeau , 531 F. App'x 340 ( 2013 )


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  •                              UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 13-6337
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff - Appellee,
    v.
    HAROLD EARL BLONDEAU,
    Defendant - Appellant.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
    District of North Carolina, at Greenville.   Malcolm J. Howard,
    Senior District Judge. (5:09-cr-00117-H-1; 5:11-cv-00124-H)
    Submitted:   June 5, 2013                       Decided:   June 28, 2013
    Before KING and    DAVIS,   Circuit   Judges,    and   HAMILTON,   Senior
    Circuit Judge.
    Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Harold Earl Blondeau, Appellant Pro Se.     Seth Morgan Wood,
    Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
    Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Harold Earl Blondeau, a federal prisoner, filed a 28
    U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 2012) motion contending, in relevant
    part, that his trial counsel were unconstitutionally ineffective
    in failing to consult with him regarding his desire to file an
    appeal.   After we granted a certificate of appealability on this
    claim   and    remanded      his   case     to    the     district    court   for   an
    evidentiary hearing, United States v. Blondeau, 480 F. App’x 241
    (4th Cir. 2012) (No. 11-7576), the district court found that
    counsel   had     consulted        with    Blondeau       as   to    his   appellate
    preferences     and   once    again       denied       Blondeau’s    § 2255   motion.
    Blondeau appeals for the second time.
    We review the district court’s conclusions of law de
    novo and its findings of fact for clear error.                      United States v.
    Nicholson,     
    611 F.3d 191
    ,    205       (4th    Cir.   2010).      The   term
    “consult” as used in this context has “a specific meaning —
    advising the defendant about the advantages and disadvantages of
    taking an appeal, and making a reasonable effort to discover the
    defendant’s wishes.”          Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 
    528 U.S. 470
    , 478
    (2000).   Our review of the record convinces us that counsel gave
    Blondeau “reasonable advice” when informing him that, in their
    opinion, he did not have any meritorious issues to appeal.                          
    Id. at 486; United
    States v. Poindexter, 
    492 F.3d 263
    , 268-69 (4th
    2
    Cir. 2007).          See also Bell v. Jarvis, 
    236 F.3d 149
    , 164 (4th
    Cir. 2000) (en banc) (explaining the deference owed to counsel’s
    determination of which issues warrant appeal).
    With    respect        to     whether      counsel       made    “a    reasonable
    effort to discover [Blondeau’s] wishes,” 
    Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. at 478
    , we note that the testimony elucidated at the evidentiary
    hearing provides a degree of support for Blondeau’s assertions.
    See Bostick v. Stevenson, 
    589 F.3d 160
    , 166 (4th Cir. 2009)
    (“‘Simply       asserting       the       view     that       an    appeal     would    not     be
    successful does not constitute “consultation” in any meaningful
    sense.’” (quoting Thompson v. United States, 
    504 F.3d 1203
    , 1207
    (11th Cir. 2007)); In re Sealed Case, 
    527 F.3d 174
    , 175 (D.C.
    Cir.     2008)    (even        where       defense       counsel       has     discussed       the
    possible      merits      of    an    appeal       with       his    client,    he     fails    to
    adequately consult his client if he makes “no effort to discover
    his client’s wishes regarding an appeal”); Lewis v. Johnson, 
    359 F.3d 646
    ,      660-61    (3d       Cir.    2004).           But    see    United     States v.
    Doyle,    
    631 F.3d 815
    ,       818    (6th       Cir.    2011)       (finding    adequate
    consultation         where      counsel          explained          defendant’s        appellate
    rights throughout the course of his representation); Keys v.
    United    States,        
    545 F.3d 644
    ,       647    (8th    Cir.     2008)    (same);
    Bednarski v. United States, 
    481 F.3d 530
    , 534 (7th Cir. 2007)
    (same).
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    But, even assuming that Blondeau’s counsel failed to
    adequately ascertain precisely how Blondeau wished to act upon
    their advice not to appeal his sentence, Blondeau has failed to
    demonstrate that he suffered prejudice from their conduct, given
    that he admitted at the evidentiary hearing that he would not
    have filed an appeal during the appeal period, on the basis of
    counsel’s reasonable advice.        See 
    Poindexter, 492 F.3d at 268-69
    (in the context of an attorney’s failure to consult, “prejudice
    will be presumed if the defendant can show that, had he received
    reasonable advice from his attorney, he would have instructed
    his attorney to file a timely notice of appeal.”).
    In other words, Blondeau essentially admits that, even
    if counsel had asked him during the appeal period whether he
    wished to file an appeal, he would have said no, on the basis of
    the advice that counsel had given him.            As we have explained,
    counsel’s advice was not unreasonable.           Thus, because Blondeau
    has     failed   to   demonstrate   that   he   was    prejudiced    by   his
    counsel’s failure to adequately consult him as to his appellate
    preferences, his ineffective assistance claim must fail.                  See
    
    id. Accordingly, we affirm
    the judgment of the district
    court.     We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
    legal    contentions    are   adequately   presented    in   the    materials
    4
    before   this   court   and   argument   would   not   aid   the   decisional
    process.
    AFFIRMED
    5