F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
APR 1 1997
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs. No. 96-8047
(D.C. No. 95-CR-57-4-J)
MARSHALL LOUIS WASHINGTON, (D. Wyo.)
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
Before BRORBY, EBEL, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.**
Mr. Washington pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and
distribution of various controlled substances and was sentenced to 90 months
imprisonment and four years supervised release. 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C) &
846. Prior to sentencing, he sought leave to withdraw his guilty plea on the grounds of
newly discovered evidence. He contended that his arrest, which led to a search incident
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. This court generally disfavors the
citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under
the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
**
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this three-judge panel has
determined unanimously that oral argument would not be of material assistance in the
determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The cause is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
to arrest and discovery of contraband, was the result of execution of an invalid state bench
warrant. The bench warrant was issued after Mr. Washington failed to respond to an
order to show cause, however, the order was not served upon Mr. Washington, although
one attempt was made.
We review the denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea for an abuse of
discretion, reversing only if the district court’s decision was unjust or unfair. United
States v. Carr, 80 F.3d 413, 419 (10th Cir. 1996). Had the district court determined that
Mr. Washington’s position on the bench warrant had merit, it would have allowed
withdrawal. R. Vol. Six, Tr. 58 (3/28/96 hearing). We need not discuss all of the factors
normally attendant to withdrawal of a guilty plea, see United States v. Guthrie, 64 F.3d
1510, 1513 (10th Cir. 1995), because the district court was correct that the bench warrant
was valid even though the underlying show cause order indicated only one unsuccessful
attempt at service. See Wyo. R. Cr. P. 42(c)(3). Having stopped Mr. Washington on
suspicion of driving under the influence, the arresting officer’s reliance on the bench
warrant was objectively reasonable. See Arizona v. Evans, 115 S. Ct. 1185, 1193-94
(1995). Thus, the arrest and search incident to arrest are not deficient and the district
-2-
court did not abuse its discretion in holding Mr. Washington to his plea.
AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
Paul J. Kelly, Jr.
Circuit Judge
-3-
United States v. Washington
Combined Opinion