Denson v. United States

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a defendant’s pre-sentence motion to withdraw guilty pleas to child sexual abuse, PCP possession, and ammunition possession charges. The court held that a discretionary supervised-release condition prohibiting contact with minors is a collateral consequence, so neither the trial court nor defense counsel was required to advise the defendant of it before the pleas were entered.

Holdings

1. Rule 11(c)(1)'s requirement that a defendant be advised of the mandatory minimum and maximum possible penalties applies to direct consequences of the plea that have a definite and immediate impact on the range of punishment and are part and parcel of the sentence itself. A discretionary supervised-release condition imposed by the U.S. Parole Commission is a collateral consequence, so the trial court was not required to advise Denson of it before accepting his guilty plea.
2. Defense counsel had no duty under Rule 11 or the Constitution to advise Denson before his guilty plea of the discretionary supervised-release condition prohibiting contact with minors because the condition was a collateral consequence rather than a direct consequence of the plea.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Superior Court Criminal Rule 11(c)(1) required the trial court to advise Denson before accepting his guilty plea of a discretionary supervised-release condition prohibiting contact with minors.
2. Whether defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to advise Denson before his guilty plea of the anticipated supervised-release condition.
3. Whether a discretionary supervised-release condition prohibiting contact with minors is a direct punitive consequence of a guilty plea or instead a collateral consequence.

Disposition

affirmed