Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca11-18-14935/USCOURTS-ca11-18-14935-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Cedric Butts
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

________________________

No. 18-14935

Non-Argument Calendar

________________________

D.C. Docket No. 1:17-cr-00006-LJA-TQL-15

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

 Plaintiff - Appellee,

versus

CEDRIC BUTTS, 

 Defendant - Appellant.

________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of Georgia

________________________

(January 15, 2020)

Before MARTIN, GRANT, and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: 

Je’Nita Lane, appointed counsel for Cedric Butts in this direct criminal 

appeal, has moved to withdraw from further representation of Butts and filed a 

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brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396 (1967). Our 

independent review of the entire record reveals that counsel’s assessment of the 

merit of the appeal is correct. 

As part of Butts’s plea agreement, he agreed to “waive[] any right to appeal 

or other collateral review of [his] sentence in any court.” Notwithstanding this

language in Butts’s plea agreement, the court advised him as follows during his 

plea colloquy: “[I]f you believe you received constitutionally ineffective assistance 

of counsel, you’ll [] be able to appeal in that circumstance.” A waiver is 

unenforceable if the district court’s explanation of the waiver was “confusing” 

such that the defendant would not have understood the waiver’s “full significance.” 

United States v. Bushert, 997 F.2d 1343, 1352–53 (11th Cir. 1993).

Nevertheless, and regardless of the appeal waiver, our independent 

examination of the record reveals no arguable issues of merit on appeal. Counsel’s 

motion to withdraw is therefore GRANTED, and Butts’s conviction and sentence 

are AFFIRMED.

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