Opinion ID: 159124
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Alleged Waiver of Appeal

Text: 21 We now turn to the waiver-of-appeal provision in the plea agreement. As noted above, the government relies on this provision in arguing that Mr. Black should not be allowed to appeal his sentence. 22 This circuit has held that [a] defendant's knowing and voluntary waiver of the statutory right to appeal his sentence is generally enforceable. United States v. Atterberry, 144 F.3d 1299, 1300 (10th Cir. 1998) (quoting United States v. Hernandez, 134 F.3d 1435, 1437 (10th Cir. 1998)). Nevertheless, a defendant who waives his right to appeal does not subject himself to being sentenced entirely at the whim of the district court. United States v. Marin, 961 F.2d 493, 496 (4th Cir. 1992). As the Second Circuit has noted, agreements waiving the right to appeal, like other contracts, are subject to certain public policy constraints. United States v. Yemitan, 70 F.3d 746, 748 (2d Cir. 1995). For example, a sentence tainted by racial bias could not be supported on contract principles, since neither party can be deemed to have accepted such a risk or be entitled to such a result as a benefit of the bargain. Id. Similarly, a waiver may not be used to preclude appellate review of a sentence that exceeds the statutory maximum, see Marin, 961 F.2d at 496, or to deny review of a claim that the agreement was entered into with ineffective assistance of counsel. United States v. Henderson, 72 F.3d 463, 465 (5th Cir. 1995). 3 23 In this case, Mr. Black first argues that the waiver of appellate review set forth in the plea agreement is invalid because the district court itself did not address the waiver provision and explain its consequences at the change-of-plea proceedings. We are not persuaded by this argument. As the government notes, several circuits have held that, if the record as a whole establishes that the defendant's waiver of appellate review was knowing and voluntary, there is no requirement that the district court itself specifically address the waiver provision in a colloquy with the defendant. See United States v. Michelsen, 141 F.3d 867, 871 (8th Cir.) (concluding that [a]lthough it might have been preferable for the court to have conducted a colloquy with [the defendant] regarding his waiver of appeal, such a dialogue is not a prerequisite for a valid waiver of the right to appeal), cert. denied, 119 S. Ct. 363 (1998); United States v. Wenger, 58 F.3d 280, 282 (7th Cir. 1995) (upholding a waiver of appeal provision and dismissing the appeal even though the judge did not include the provision in the plea colloquy); United States v. DeSantiago-Martinez, 38 F.3d 394, 395 (9th Cir. 1992) ([A] Rule 11 colloquy on the waiver of the right to appeal is not a prerequisite to a finding that the waiver is valid.). 24 We followed this approach in Atterberry, upholding a waiver of appellate review even though the transcript of the change of plea hearing was not in the record. We stated that we saw nothing in the record suggesting that the waiver was not made knowingly and voluntarily. Atterberry, 144 F.3d at 1300. 25 In Mr. Black's case, the transcript of the change of plea hearing is in the record. It indicates that although the district court did not specifically address the waiver of appeal provision in its colloquy with Mr. Black, the prosecutor referred to the provision in explaining the plea agreement. Moreover, when questioned by the district court, Mr. Black stated that the prosecutor's summary of the plea agreement was accurate. Accordingly, as in Atterberry, the record indicates that the initial waiver of appeal was knowing and voluntary. 26 However, that conclusion does not end our inquiry. Mr. Black also argues that the waiver-of-appeal provision should not be enforced because of the district court's concluding remarks at sentencing. Although the court referred at one point to Mr. Black's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, its broad language (I am going to strike that provision of the plea agreement so that you may appeal) suggests that it intended to allow Mr. Black to appeal not only the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea but other rulings as well (for example, the district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines). See Rec. vol. VII, at 79-80. 27 Nevertheless, our decision in Atterberry indicates that the district court's remarks did not reinstate Mr. Black's right to appeal on the grounds he raises here. There, we concluded for several reasons that the district court's statement at sentencing that the parties had the right to appeal did not negate the waiver-of-appeal provision contained in the plea agreement. We first noted that the court's remarks did not explicitly contradict the waiver-of-appeal provision. However, we also agreed with those circuits holding that statements made by a judge during sentencing concerning the right to appeal do not act to negate written waivers of that right, because statements like those made by the court during [the defendant's] sentencing do not affect a defendant's prior decision to plead guilty and waive appellate rights. Atterberry, 144 F.3d at 1301 (citing Michelsen, 141 F.3d 867 at 872 and United States v. Melacon, 972 F.2d 566, 568 (5th Cir. 1992)). That principle applies here. The district court's remarks at sentencing could not have affected Mr. Black's prior decision to enter into a plea agreement and waive his right to appeal. 28 That conclusion is also supported by decisions of other circuits holding in similar circumstances that the district court lacks the authority to modify a plea agreement at sentencing. For example, in United States v. Howle, 166 F.3d 1166 (11th Cir. 1999), the sentencing judge told a defendant who had executed a plea agreement containing a waiver-of-appeal provision that it invite[d] and welcome[d] an appeal. Id. at 1168. In upholding the waiver-of-appeal provision, the Eleventh Circuit concluded that the modification of the plea agreement was beyond the power of the district court: 29 Such a modification would impermissibly alter the bargain at the heart of the agreement--without the defendant's waiver of his right to appeal, the Government might not have been willing to dismiss four of the five counts contained in the indictment. Having approved the plea agreement, the district court had no more right to change its terms than it would have to change the terms of any other contract. 30 Id. at 1169; see also United States v. Ritsema, 89 F.3d 392, 398-99 (7th Cir. 1996) (noting that under Fed. R. Crim. P. 11, [o]nce the court has accepted a plea agreement, however, it is, as a general rule, bound by the terms of that agreement). 31 Although the sentencing court may modify plea agreements in certain exceptional circumstances (for example, for reasons of public policy or in instances of fraud on the court, see, e.g., United States v. Ready, 82 F.3d 551 (2d Cir. 1996)), those circumstances are not present here. Accordingly, because the district court's remarks at sentencing could not have affected Mr. Black's decision to enter into the plea agreement and waive his right to appeal, and because the district court lacked the authority to modify the plea agreement in these circumstances, we conclude that the waiver-of-appeal provision should be enforced. Accordingly, Mr. Black has waived his right to appeal his sentence on the grounds he asserts in his appellate brief.