UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.  No. 01-4193

DAVID RUSSELL KERNS,

Defendant-Appellant. 

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Wheeling.

Frederick P. Stamp, Jr., District Judge.

(CR-00-31)

Submitted: January 7, 2002

Decided: January 24, 2002

Before WILKINS, TRAXLER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed in part and dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam

opinion. 

COUNSEL

David O. Schles, STOWERS & ASSOCIATES, Charleston, West

Virginia, for Appellant. Thomas E. Johnston, United States Attorney,

Sam G. Nazzaro, Assistant United States Attorney, Sharon L. Potter,

Assistant United States Attorney, Wheeling, West Virginia, for

Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c). 

OPINION

PER CURIAM: 

David Russell Kerns appeals his conviction and 168-month sentence following a guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute

cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1),

(b)(1)(C). We affirm in part and dismiss in part. 

Kerns asserts that in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466

(2000), his indictment is defective because it failed to charge the

quantity of cocaine as an element of the offense, thereby depriving the

district court of jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea. We find the

indictment is sufficient because it properly charged the elements of

the offense for which Kerns was convicted. See United States v. Dinnall, 269 F.3d 418, 423 n.3 (4th Cir. 2001); United States v. Cotton,

261 F.3d 397, 405 (4th Cir. 2001), cert. granted, 2002 WL 10623, 70

U.S.L.W. 3348 (U.S. Jan. 4, 2002) (No. 01-687); United States v.

Promise, 255 F.3d 150, 160 (4th Cir. 2001) (en banc), petition for

cert. filed, Sept. 20, 2001 (No. 01-6938). Thus, Kerns is not entitled

to relief on this claim. 

Kerns contests the validity of his guilty plea and sentence. We have

reviewed the record and find that the district court complied with Fed.

R. Crim. P. 11 in accepting Kerns’ guilty plea. See United States v.

Goins, 51 F.3d 400, 402 (4th Cir. 1995). We therefore affirm Kerns’

conviction. 

Regarding Kerns’ sentencing claims, a defendant whose plea

agreement contains an express waiver of the right to appeal may not

appeal his sentence unless the waiver is shown to be unknowing or

involuntary. United States v. Brown, 232 F.3d 399, 403 (4th Cir.

2000); see also United States v. Marin, 961 F.2d 493, 496 (4th Cir.

1992). Our review of the plea agreement and the record of the plea

colloquy reveal the waiver was knowing and voluntary. Moreover, the

2 UNITED STATES v. KERNS
sentence did not exceed the statutory maximum penalty, and there is

no evidence that it was based on a constitutionally impermissible factor. See Marin, 961 F.2d at 496. We therefore dismiss this portion of

the appeal. 

Kerns also seeks to file a pro se supplemental brief in which he

reiterates his Apprendi claim and challenges the constitutionality of

§ 841. While we grant Kerns’ motion to file a pro se brief, for the reasons discussed above, we find Kerns’ Apprendi claim is meritless. In

addition, we have recently upheld the constitutionality of § 841. See

United States v. McAllister, 272 F.3d 228, 232 (4th Cir. 2001). 

Accordingly, we affirm Kern’s conviction and dismiss that portion

of the appeal which seeks to challenge his sentence. We dispense with

oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately

presented in the materials before the court and argument would not

aid the decisional process. 

AFFIRMED IN PART, DISMISSED IN PART

UNITED STATES v. KERNS 3