Opinion ID: 219000
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Phillips' As-Applied Vagueness Challenge

Text: Phillips contends that § 7413(c)(1) is unconstitutionally vague as-applied to the facts of his case. Phillips pleaded guilty, however, without ever challenging the validity of the statute in the lower court or reserving his right to do so on appeal. Whether Phillips waived his vagueness challenge is an issue of first impression. Consistent with every court that has addressed this issue, [2] we now hold that a defendant who pleads guilty without raising an as-applied vagueness challenge in the trial court is barred from raising that issue on appeal. As a general rule, a defendant who pleads guilty waives his right to appeal all non-jurisdictional issues. See e.g., United States v. Martin, 147 F.3d 529, 531-32 (7th Cir.1998). Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure creates a narrow exception: upon the approval of the court and the consent of the government, a defendant may enter a conditional plea, reserving in writing the right to have an appellate court review an adverse determination of a specified pretrial motion. Fed.R.Crim.P. 11. This exception is narrow because all non-jurisdictional issues not specifically reserved in the conditional plea agreement remain waived. United States v. Kingcade, 562 F.3d 794, 797 (7th Cir.2009). Accordingly, Phillips may raise an as-applied vagueness challenge for the first time on appeal only if it is jurisdictional. The term jurisdictional refers to a court's statutory or constitutional authority to hale the defendant into court; it does not refer to subject matter jurisdiction. Blackledge v. Perry, 417 U.S. 21, 30, 94 S.Ct. 2098, 40 L.Ed.2d 628 (1974); Bell, 70 F.3d at 497. A jurisdictional issue is one that stands in the way of convictioneven when factual guilt is validly established and prevents a court from entering any judgment in the case, including an acquittal. See Blackledge, 417 U.S. at 30, 94 S.Ct. 2098; Donovan, 410 Fed.Appx. at 981-82; Lacey, 569 F.3d at 323; Alikhani, 200 F.3d at 734-35; United States v. Johnston, 199 F.3d 1015, 1020 n. 3 (9th Cir. 1999). Whether the issue concerns a statutory or constitutional violation is immaterial because even constitutional violations not logically inconsistent with the valid establishment of factual guilt are non-jurisdictional and thus waived unless explicitly reserved for appeal in a conditional plea agreement. Bell, 70 F.3d at 496 (quoting Menna v. New York, 423 U.S. 61, 63 n. 2, 96 S.Ct. 241, 46 L.Ed.2d 195 (1975)). While a facial attack on a statute's constitutionality is jurisdictional, an as-applied vagueness challenge is not. A facially vague statute presents a jurisdictional issue because it is by definition vague in every application, preventing a court from entering a judgment under the statute in any case and stripping the government of its ability to obtain a conviction against any defendant. See Blackledge, 417 U.S. at 30, 94 S.Ct. 2098; Donovan, 410 Fed. Appx. at 981-82. Unlike a facial challenge, an as-applied challenge does not dispute the court's power to hear cases under the statute; rather, it questions the court's limited ability to enter a conviction in the case before it. Indeed, a statute that is vague only as-applied to the defendant may still be constitutional as-applied to others, and it thus does not strip the court of its power to enter a judgment under the statute or deprive the government of authority to seek a conviction under the statute. See Blackledge, 417 U.S. at 30, 94 S.Ct. 2098; Johnston, 199 F.3d at 1020 n. 3. Stated otherwise, an as-applied challenge is a non-jurisdictional issue because, even if the challenge is successful, it will not leave the court without any power to hale a defendant into court under the statute. See Menna, 423 U.S. at 62, 96 S.Ct. 241; Blackledge, 417 U.S. at 30, 94 S.Ct. 2098; Donovan, 410 Fed.Appx. at 981-82. Furthermore, when we are presented with an as-applied challenge, we examine only the facts of the case before us and not any set of hypothetical facts under which the statute might be unconstitutional. See Sandsness, 988 F.2d at 972 n. 2; United States v. Stephenson, 557 F.3d 449, 456 (7th Cir.2009). The plea agreement, which contains the facts of the case, is thus of critical importance. See Sandsness, 988 F.2d at 972 n. 2. A guilty plea is more than a mere confession; a defendant who pleads guilty admits not only that he committed the acts described in the indictment but also that he is guilty of the substantive offense. See United States v. Broce, 488 U.S. 563, 570, 109 S.Ct. 757, 102 L.Ed.2d 927 (1989). Having already admitted guilt of the substantive crime and affirmed as true the underlying facts of the conviction, the defendant can no longer re-argue the facts on appeal and challenge the statute as vague in application. Therefore, while a facial vagueness challenge is jurisdictional, an as-applied vagueness challenge is non-jurisdictional and waived unless specifically reserved for appeal in a conditional plea agreement. Phillips is thus barred from asserting an as-applied vagueness challenge for the first time on appeal. We AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.