FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAR 24 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) No. 10-10094
)
Plaintiff – Appellee, ) D.C. No. 4:09-cr-00366-CW-1
)
v. ) MEMORANDUM *
)
TERRY NORRIS, )
)
Defendant – Appellant. )
)
)
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Claudia A. Wilken, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 15, 2011 **
San Francisco, California
Before: WALLACE, FERNANDEZ, and CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.
Terry Norris appeals his conviction for possessing a firearm in furtherance
of a drug trafficking crime. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A). We affirm.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral
argument. Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Norris’ sole claim is that the district court erred when it denied his motion to
withdraw his guilty plea to that crime. However, we have reviewed the record and
we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion 1 when it determined that
his claim of mental impairment at the time of the plea colloquy did not spell out a
fair and just reason to withdraw the plea.2 His statements under oath at the time of
the plea undercut his present claims of clouded understanding and
misunderstanding,3 as does the fact that he had known of the five-year mandatory
minimum sentence, which he agreed to, for quite some time before he pled. Under
the circumstances, acceptance of Norris’ claim would leave the results of plea
hearings little “more than ephemeral.” United States v. Rios-Ortiz, 830 F.2d 1067,
1070 (9th Cir. 1987).
AFFIRMED.
1
See United States v. Briggs, 623 F.3d 724, 727 (9th Cir. 2010); United
States v. Ortega-Ascanio, 376 F.3d 879, 883 (9th Cir. 2004).
2
See Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B); Briggs, 623 F.3d at 728; Ortega-Ascanio,
376 F.3d at 883.
3
See United States v. Ross, 511 F.3d 1233, 1236–37 (9th Cir. 2008); United
States v. Nostratis, 321 F.3d 1206, 1210 (9th Cir. 2003); United States v. Signori,
844 F.2d 635, 639 (9th Cir. 1988); United States v. Castello, 724 F.2d 813, 815
(9th Cir. 1984); see also United States v. Myers, 993 F.2d 713, 714–15 (9th Cir.
1993).
2