United States v. Raines

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION] UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT No. 96-1755 UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. JAMES OTIS RAINES, Defendant, Appellant. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE [Hon. D. Brock Hornby, U.S. District Judge] Before Torruella, Chief Judge, Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge, and Boudin, Circuit Judge. Gordon R. Blakeney, Jr. on brief for appellant. Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, James L. McCarthy and Margaret D. McGaughey, Assistant United States Attorneys, on brief for appellee. March 25, 1997 Per Curiam. Upon careful review of the briefs and record, we conclude that defendant's plea should not be vacated. The district court told defendant that he was "subject to a term of imprisonment which is a minimum of 15 years." Even though the district court did not state that the minimum sentence was "mandatory," that slip does not entitle defendant to relief in the circumstances of this case. Defendant offers no plausible reason for his belated attempt to change his plea; he makes no claim of innocence; and there is nothing legally suspect about the plea. The proceedings as a whole suggest that defendant reasonably should have understood, and did understand, the sentencing implications of his plea. See United States v. Lopez-Pineda, 55 F.3d 693, 696 (1st Cir. 1995). We also find no merit in defendant's contention regarding an enhancement for obstruction of justice. That enhancement had no bearing on the armed career criminal sentence ultimately imposed here under U.S.S.G. 4B1.4(b)(3). See United States v. Ruiz-Garcia, 886 F.2d 474, 476 (1st Cir. 1989). Affirmed. See 1st Cir. Loc. R. 27.1. -2-