Opinion ID: 799223
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alcala's Motion to Withdraw His Plea Agreement Falls Within the Scope of His Appellate Waiver

Text: This Court has repeatedly recognized that a defendant may waive his right to appeal his conviction and sentence. See, e.g., Cole, 569 F.3d at 776. We have not yet considered, however, whether an appeal of a denial of a motion to withdraw a plea constitutes an appeal of the conviction. That is, we have not addressed whether a defendant's waiver of his appellate rights applies to a motion to withdraw a plea. The Sixth Circuit recently confronted this question in United States v. Toth, 668 F.3d 374 (6th Cir.2012), and held that such waiver, if valid, precludes a defendant's right to appeal a denial of his motion to withdraw his plea. In Toth, the defendant signed a plea agreement with the Government in which he waived his right to appeal. Id. at 374. The terms of the agreement were specified to the district court during the defendant's plea colloquy, including the defendant's knowing, voluntary relinquishment of his appellate rights. Id. at 376-77. The district court, in turn, instructed the defendant that if he accepted the deal, he would not be able to withdraw his guilty plea absent a fair and just reason. Id. at 377. The defendant indicated that he understood and accepted the deal. Id. Some two-and-a-half months later, the defendant informed the court that he had been tricked by counsel into pleading guilty in spite of the truth. Id. The district court conducted an evidentiary hearing, concluded that the defendant had not demonstrated a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal, see FED. R.CRIM.P. 11(d)(2)(B), and denied his motion to withdraw his plea. Toth, 668 F.3d at 377. The defendant appealed, and the Sixth Circuit, holding that the defendant's waiver of appeal was valid and that his motion to withdraw his plea fell within the ambit of the waiver, dismissed his appeal. Id. at 377-79. In Toth, the Sixth Circuit echoed the conclusion reached by every circuit that has considered this question: the majority of circuits agree that appealing a denial of a motion to withdraw a plea is an attempt to contest a conviction on appeal. Id. at 378 (quoting United States v. Elliott, 264 F.3d 1171, 1174 (10th Cir.2001)) (internal quotation marks omitted). In addition to the Sixth Circuit, the Second, Third, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits have each held that when a defendant waives his right to appeal in a plea, he also waives his right to appeal a denial of his motion to withdraw that plea. [1] We agree with our sister circuits that a defendant challenges his conviction when he challenges the district court's denial of his motion to withdraw a plea. Accordingly, the only question before us is whether Alcala's signing of his plea agreement and waiver of his rights was knowing and voluntary.