Opinion ID: 769041
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Issues in the Brief

Text: 21 In preparing an Anders brief in these circumstances, counsel should examine both the adequacy of the defendant's waiver and whether the defendant's plea and sentence were in accord with the applicable law. In some cases, a defendant may have a valid claim that the waiver of appellate rights is unenforceable, such as when the waiver was not made knowingly, voluntarily, and competently, see United States v. Ready, 82 F.3d 551, 556-57 (2d Cir. 1996), when the sentence was imposed based on constitutionally impermissible factors, such as ethnic, racial or other prohibited biases, see Jacobson, 15 F.3d at 22-23, when the government breached the plea agreement, see Rosa, 123 F.3d at 98 (citing United States v. Gonzalez, 16 F.3d 985, 990 (9th Cir. 1993)), or when the sentencing court failed to enunciate any rationale for the defendant's sentence, thus amount[ing] to an abdication of judicial responsibility subject to mandamus. Yemitan, 70 F.3d at 748. 22 These exceptions to the presumption of the enforceability of a waiver, however, occupy a very circumscribed area of our jurisprudence. Accordingly, we have upheld waiver provisions even in circumstances where the sentence was conceivably imposed in an illegal fashion or in violation of the Guidelines, but yet was still within the range contemplated in the plea agreement. See id. (holding that 18 U.S.C. § 3742(c)(1), in tandem with plea agreement, prevented defendant from challenging his sentence based on alleged illegality unless the sentence violated public policy constraints); accord United States v. Feichtinger, 105 F.3d 1188, 1190 (7th Cir. 1997) ([A]n improper application of the guidelines is not a reason to invalidate a knowing and voluntary waiver of appeal rights.). We have also upheld waiver provisions when the plea agreement did not contain a specific, estimated sentencing range, so long as the defendant's actual sentence was reasonably foreseeable at the time of defendant's plea and was not fundamentally unfair. Rosa, 123 F.3d at 102. 23 But while these exceptions may be few in kind and sporadic in frequency in comparison with the bulk of cases where waivers are presumptively enforceable, they are the exceptions that must drive our rule requiring an Anders brief. To ensure that the constitutional rights that form the bases for the exceptions are not trampled by the increasing practice of including appeal waivers in plea agreements, we hold that defendant's counsel must file an Andersbrief addressing only the narrow issues addressed in the above paragraphs. 24 We see nothing that would justify any departure from the dictates of Anders simply because a defendant has entered into a plea agreement including a waiver of his right to appeal. Our ruling is therefore consistent with Anders's command of maintaining certain safeguards and with its prophylactic framework. Smith v. Robbins, 120 S. Ct. 746, 757 (2000) (citations omitted). Mindful of the benefit of reduced litigation sought by the government, however, we hold that counsel submitting an Anders brief in these situations is restricted to the narrow subset of issues previously outlined. 25 This being so, our above recitation of cases representing prior circumstances in which we have held waivers unenforceable should in no way be considered exhaustive. Instead, these cases should comprise the backdrop by which counsel begins her review of a defendant's case prior to determining whether an Anders brief is warranted. If counsel subsequently determines that an Anders brief is appropriate and thereafter files such a brief, this Court must, as we have done in prior cases involving Anders briefs, afford the defendant an opportunity to raise pro se any issues he feels merit discussion. See Anders, 386 U.S. at 744. 26 We note that both the government and counsel for defendant-appellant are in agreement on this issue. Both parties readily agree that Anders briefs serve an important function, even in cases where, as here, a superficial review of the defendant's case would seem to indicate that he has previously relinquished any right to appeal. Both parties similarly agree that defendant must be provided notice and an opportunity to respond once an Anders brief has been filed. 27 B. Future Procedures in Cases Involving Motions to Dismiss Based on Waivers of a Right to Appeal 28 We must still address the procedures to be used in cases such as this one. Because the government filed a motion to dismiss in this case, the issue of Gomez-Perez's waiver was raised before his counsel had the opportunity to prepare an Anders brief. Since we cannot determine whether it is appropriate to grant such a motion until we are convinced that defendant's waiver and sentence satisfied the above requirements, we will, in the future, reserve judgment on such motions until such time as defendant and defendant's counsel have had an opportunity to address these issues. Specifically, counsel shall respond in accordance with the normal briefing schedule. 29 In the event that defendant's counsel files an adequate Anders brief, and the defendant likewise fails to point to any non-frivolous issues pertaining to the plea agreement and appeal waiver, a Motions Panel will then review the record and determine whether it is appropriate to dismiss the appeal. In cases where dismissal is not appropriate, the government's motion will be denied, and the matter will be sent to a Merits Panel, in accordance with normal Anders procedures. C. The Merits of Gomez-Perez's Appeal 30 In this case, Gomez-Perez's counsel has submitted an adequate Anders brief that addresses the issues we have identified above, and this Court notified Gomez-Perez that his counsel now seeks to be relieved. 2 Gomez-Perez has not responded with any non-frivolous issues for appeal, and we conclude that there are no other non-frivolous issues for appeal. After reviewing the Anders brief, as well as the record, we determine that Gomez-Perez knowingly, voluntarily, and competently waived his right to appeal. As a result, the appeal is dismissed.