United States v. Audie Couch

Case: 11-10946 Document: 00512037631 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/30/2012
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
October 30, 2012
No. 11-10946
Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
AUDIE EUGENE COUCH,
Defendant - Appellant
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:11-CR-61-1
Before BARKSDALE, CLEMENT, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Audie Eugene Couch appeals his guilty-plea conviction for possession of
a controlled substance with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C.
§ 841(a)(1) & (b)(1)(B)(viii), and his resulting sentence of 480-months
imprisonment. Couch maintains the district court erred by failing to withdraw
his guilty plea sua sponte, based upon questions Couch raised at his sentencing
hearing.
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
Case: 11-10946 Document: 00512037631 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/30/2012
No. 11-10946
Contrary to Couch’s contention, his sentencing hearing statements do not
suggest he misunderstood the guilty-plea proceeding, nor do they suggest he
wished to withdraw his plea. Rather, his statements show confusion regarding
the relationship between the statutory sentencing range and the Guidelines
sentencing range.
Because Couch did not raise his contention in district court, review is only
for plain error. E.g., Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009). As
described below, he fails to satisfy the well-known elements for relief under such
review.
The decisions cited by Couch do not address whether a district court may
order, sua sponte, the withdrawal of a guilty plea, and he similarly presents no
authority for the notion that a district court has a duty to do so. Our court has
declined to impose such a duty. E.g., United States v. Abreo, 30 F.3d 29, 31 & n.1
(5th Cir. 1994).
Couch fails to show clear or obvious error. E.g., Puckett, 556 U.S. at 135.
Moreover, he fails both to assert the error affected his substantial rights and to
address whether our court should exercise its discretion to correct the claimed
reversible plain error. E.g., id.
AFFIRMED.
2