In the mid-1990s, pursuant to instructions from the Department of Justice, United States Attorney's Offices around the country began requiring a waiver of appeal as a condition of entering into any plea agreement. A number of district courts around the country have refused to accept such waivers, but all courts of appeal that have been asked to rule on the issue have, as a general policy, held that appeal waivers are not per se invalid. Mr. Kent has argued in an appeal filed this month, that appeal waivers of the sort required by the government, are illegal. This argument is being made in the Eleventh Circuit, which has already accepted the concept of appeal waivers in United States v. Bushert , 1993. Mr. Kent hopes that the issue will be taken en banc , or that a petition for certiorari will be granted to review this problem.
Defendants sometimes have no choice but to enter into a plea agreement.
They should not have to do so at the cost of losing appellate review of their sentences. Generally, because of this issue, Mr. Kent advises clients in routine cases to not sign the government's standard plea agreement. Recognizing that district courts may not always properly follow the sentencing guidelines, the government refuses to give up its right of appeal. The client had an outstanding felony warrant when police officers, acting in response to an anonymous tip to 911, went to his residence. While the officers awaited confirmation from the warrants division of the tip that the client had an outstanding warrant for murder, the client exited his residence.