United States v. James Van Buren

Defendant-appellant James Van Burén (“defendant”) appeals his guilty plea to the charge of knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully using a communication facility to commit or facilitate a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine. He claims that his guilty plea should be set aside on three grounds. First, defendant argues that the District Court failed to establish a factual basis for the guilty plea, thus failing to comply with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(f). Second, he claims that he lacked full understanding of the elements of the crime with which…