NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted October 27, 2016
Decided November 17, 2016
Before
RICHARD A. POSNER, Circuit Judge
JOEL M. FLAUM, Circuit Judge
KENNETH F. RIPPLE, Circuit Judge
No. 15‐3391
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appeal from the United States
Plaintiff‐Appellee, District Court for the Southern District
of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.
v.
No. 1:14CR00214‐001
MARK BROOM, JR.,
Defendant‐Appellant. Sarah Evans Barker,
Judge.
O R D E R
An Indianapolis police officer stopped Mark Broom, then 66, after he threw a
cigarette butt out the window of his truck. Mr. Broom, a felon with an extensive
criminal history, was arrested after the officer learned that he had hidden a loaded
handgun in his pants and a small amount of marijuana in a sock. A drug‐sniffing dog
alerted to Mr. Broom’s truck, which had California license plates, and police found a
hidden compartment in the undercarriage, though it was empty. Mr. Broom admitted
traveling back and forth between California and Indiana several times over the previous
few months but said that he was unaware of the hidden compartment. He also said that
No. 15‐3391 Page 2
the gun had been left in his truck accidentally by Heather Showalter, the buyer of the
weapon.
Authorities then charged Mr. Broom with possession of a firearm by a felon,
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). In their plea agreement the parties correctly anticipated that the
district court would calculate a guidelines imprisonment range of 12 to 18 months but
left each other free to advocate a sentence outside that range. A probation officer
completed a presentence investigation report, which included statements from
Ms. Showalter’s boyfriend, Gerry Decker. Mr. Decker told the probation officer he
suspected that Mr. Broom had been trafficking methamphetamine from California to
Indiana. In fact, Mr. Decker admitted, he had bought methamphetamine from
Mr. Broom earlier on the day of his arrest. The probation officer suspected that
Mr. Broom did not innocently find the gun in his truck but instead had convinced
Ms. Showalter to make an illegal “straw purchase,” noting that a security video from
the gun dealer shows Mr. Broom in the store with Ms. Showalter. She later pleaded
guilty to making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm,
see id. § 922(a)(6). At Mr. Broom’s sentencing the government argued for a prison
sentence above the guidelines range, while defense counsel proposed a term of 16
months, the length of time that Mr. Broom had been in pretrial detention. The district
court settled on 60 months, relying on the presentence investigation report and
explaining that the guidelines range understates Mr. Broom’s violent criminal history.
Mr. Broom filed a notice of appeal, but his appointed attorney asserts that the
appeal is frivolous and moves to withdraw under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738
(1967). Mr. Broom opposes counsel’s motion. See CIR. R. 51(b). Counsel has submitted a
brief that explains the nature of the case and addresses issues that an appeal of this kind
might be expected to involve. Because the analysis in the brief appears to be thorough,
we limit our review to the subjects counsel discusses, plus the additional issue that
Mr. Broom, disagreeing with counsel, believes has merit. See United States v. Bey,
748 F.3d 774, 776 (7th Cir. 2014); United States v. Wagner, 103 F.3d 551, 553 (7th Cir.
1996).
Counsel first considers whether Mr. Broom could challenge the voluntariness of
his guilty plea. Counsel acknowledges that Mr. Broom has told his lawyer he does not
wish to contest his guilty plea, and ordinarily it would not be appropriate for a lawyer
submitting an Anders brief to discuss possible challenges to a guilty plea that the
defendant does not wish to contest. United States v. Konczak, 683 F.3d 348, 349 (7th Cir.
2012); United States v. Knox, 287 F.3d 667, 670–71 (7th Cir. 2002). Counsel informs us,
No. 15‐3391 Page 3
however, that Mr. Broom has made “incongruous statements,” suggesting that he
actually does want to challenge the plea. Yet Mr. Broom clarifies in his Rule 51(b)
response that he is satisfied with his guilty plea and instead believes that the
government breached the plea agreement by recommending a prison sentence above
the guidelines range. If Mr. Broom is correct, his remedy likely would be specific
performance rather than rescission. See United States v. Navarro, 817 F.3d 494, 502 (7th
Cir. 2016) (remanding for resentencing because government breached promise to
recommend prison sentence only within guidelines range); United States v. Diaz‐Jimenez,
622 F.3d 692, 694 (7th Cir. 2010) (“A breach is actionable, and a minimum remedy is
specific performance ….”). Thus, counsel appears to misunderstand her client’s position
about contesting his guilty plea; Mr. Broom actually articulates a potential argument for
upholding that plea.
But even if Mr. Broom had wanted his guilty plea set aside, counsel correctly
concludes that an appellate claim challenging the plea would be frivolous. A plea
colloquy will suffice to ensure that a guilty plea is knowing and voluntary as long as the
district court substantially complies with the provisions in Federal Rule of Criminal
Procedure 11. United States v. Zitt, 714 F.3d 511, 515 (7th Cir. 2013); Konczak, 683 F.3d
at 349; United States v. Blalock, 321 F.3d 686, 688–89 (7th Cir. 2003). Counsel identifies
several potential deficiencies with the plea colloquy but concludes that the district court
complied with its obligations under this standard. Most of the admonishments that
counsel says the district court missed during the plea colloquy—e.g., that Mr. Broom
could not be compelled to incriminate himself but could face a perjury charge if he
made false statements under oath, see FED. R. CRIM. P. 11(b)(1)(A), that he could be
represented by counsel, see id. 11(b)(1)(D), and that restitution sometimes can be
ordered in criminal cases, see id. 11(b)(1)(K)—are not problematic in this case.
See, e.g., United States v. Stoller, 827 F.3d 591, 597–98 (7th Cir. 2016) (concluding that
neglecting to mention potential for perjury charge and right to counsel at trial was
harmless because perjury charge was not pending or anticipated and defendant knew
he had right to counsel); United States v. Moody, 770 F.3d 577, 581 n.12 (7th Cir. 2014)
(noting that omitting admonishment of court’s authority to order restitution was
inconsequential because restitution was not contemplated).
Notably, though, the district court did not inform Mr. Broom that he could
receive a sentence outside the guidelines range. See FED. R. CRIM. P. 11(b)(1)(M). But the
plea agreement—which Mr. Broom assured the district court multiple times that he had
read and fully understood—is explicit that the court would evaluate the guidelines
calculations and the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) before imposing a sentence, which
No. 15‐3391 Page 4
could be outside the guidelines range. The agreement also clarifies that the court would
not be bound by the parties’ sentencing recommendations or applications of the
guidelines. See United States v. Driver, 242 F.3d 767, 771 (7th Cir. 2001) (concluding that
omissions from plea colloquy were harmless because most details were in written plea
agreement). Thus it would be frivolous for Mr. Broom to assert that he was unaware of
the district court’s authority to impose a sentence above the guidelines range.
An appellate claim about the validity of Mr. Broom’s guilty plea thus would be
frivolous, but that still leaves Mr. Broom’s contention that the government breached the
plea agreement—a contention that also would be frivolous. In his Rule 51(b) response,
Mr. Broom asserts that the government agreed to recommend a sentence no greater
than 16 months and thus breached the plea agreement by recommending a sentence
above the guidelines range. See Navarro, 817 F.3d at 499–500 (vacating and remanding
sentence where government breached agreement not to recommend sentence above
guidelines range). Although the plea agreement identifies a probable guidelines range
of 12 to 18 months, it also specifies that the government could request any sentence it
wished, “including one above the advisory guidelines range.” R.69 at 4 (Plea
Agreement). The agreement explicitly encompasses the complete understanding
between the parties, and thus Mr. Broom’s proposed argument is flatly refuted by the
very agreement that he says was breached.
All that could remain are potential issues with the procedural and substantive
reasonableness of Mr. Broom’s sentence.1 We will uphold a sentence if the district court
followed the appropriate procedures—including properly calculating the guidelines
range, considering that range and the other factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and
adequately explaining the chosen sentence—and if the district court did not abuse its
discretion in selecting the sentence. United States v. Jackson, 547 F.3d 786, 792 (7th Cir.
2008). While it is true that the justification for a variance must be more compelling as
the degree of variance from the guidelines range increases, United States v. Lockwood,
789 F.3d 773, 781–82 (7th Cir. 2015) (Lockwood I); United States v. Snyder, 635 F.3d 956, 961
(7th Cir. 2011), we will accept a district court’s explanation if it is sufficient “to allow for
meaningful appellate review,” Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 50 (2007); see United
States v. Carter, 538 F.3d 784, 789 (7th Cir. 2008).
1 The plea agreement includes a term waiving Mr. Broom’s right to appeal a
sentence falling within a guidelines range of 12 to 18 months, but the 60‐month term
imposed by the court makes that provision inapplicable.
No. 15‐3391 Page 5
In this case the district court sentenced Mr. Broom well above the calculated
guidelines range, but the sentencing transcript shows that the court adequately
explained its reasons for doing so and grounded its decision in the factors from
§ 3553(a). The court explained that Mr. Broom’s criminal history category understates
the seriousness of his criminal history, referring to the fact that the majority of
Mr. Broom’s prior convictions were not counted in calculating his criminal history
score. See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a)(1) (endorsing sentence above guidelines range if
defendant’s criminal history category underrepresents actual criminal history); United
States v. Lockwood, No. 15‐3856, 2016 WL 6436848, *4 (7th Cir. Nov. 1, 2016) (Lockwood II)
(upholding above‐guidelines sentence as reasonable based on underrepresentation of
defendant’s criminal history in guidelines calculation); Jackson, 547 F.3d at 793–94
(same). Mr. Broom’s criminal history category was based on only two misdemeanor
convictions, one for driving with a suspended license and the other for assault. But
Mr. Broom has numerous other convictions that because of their age did not count
toward his criminal history score. See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(e). The list includes convictions
for manslaughter (he killed his wife) and three convictions for robbery, two of them
while armed. As the district court noted, Mr. Broom’s crimes spanned more than
40 years, with the only significant gap between offenses being the 18 years he served for
the manslaughter conviction. The district judge acted within its discretion in
determining that Mr. Broom’s prior convictions were quite serious and in weighing that
consideration heavily in its evaluation of the sentencing factors listed in § 3553(a). The
sentence imposed, significantly above the calculated guidelines range, is reasonable.
See United States v. Warner, 792 F.3d 847 (7th Cir. 2015) (“District courts enjoy broad
discretion to fashion an appropriate, individualized sentence in light of the factors in
18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).”). The court did not find any circumstance mitigating Mr. Broom’s
criminal history and was on solid ground in disbelieving Mr. Broom’s account of how
he came into possession of the gun.
Given the court’s adequate consideration throughout the proceedings of all the
relevant facts and its reasoned basis for imposing an above‐guidelines sentence, we
conclude that a challenge to the sentence’s procedural or substantive reasonableness
would be frivolous. Accordingly, Counsel’s motion to withdraw is GRANTED, and the
appeal is DISMISSED.
IT IS SO ORDERED