Opinion ID: 705069
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Waiver Provision.

Text: 36 The government contends that, by entering into the Stipulation, Stevens waived appeal of the apportionment required by Sec. 3147 and guideline Sec. 2J1.7. 2 If Stevens agreed to the Stipulation, knowingly and voluntarily, we agree. The Stipulation expressly covers this allocation, and provides that neither party will appeal a sentence ... that falls within the sentence/range offense level calculated above, even should the court ... reach that range/offense level by a guidelines analysis different from that set forth above. Stevens argues that because the district court did not engage him in a colloquy to ascertain whether the waiver of his right to appeal was knowing and voluntary, we should hold the waiver provision invalid. The government does not directly address this contention in its brief, but relies upon United States v. Salcido-Contreras, 990 F.2d 51 (2d Cir.) (per curiam), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 3060, 125 L.Ed.2d 742 (1993), in which we held that an agreement as to the appropriate sentencing range that contains a waiver-of-appeal provision is enforceable. Id. at 51; see also United States v. Rivera, 971 F.2d 876, 896 (2d Cir.1992). 37 In Salcido-Contreras, we stated that: In no circumstance ... may a defendant, who has secured the benefits of a plea agreement and knowingly and voluntarily waived the right to appeal a certain sentence, then appeal the merits of a sentence conforming to the agreement. 990 F.2d at 53. However, in Salcido-Contreras, unlike the present case, the defendant concede[d] that he knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal if the sentence fell within the agreed range, id. at 51-52, and the case accordingly did not reach the issue whether, in the absence of a specifically directed colloquy, a defendant may avoid enforcement of a waiver-of-appeal provision by contending that he did not agree to it knowingly and voluntarily. 38 In both Salcido-Contreras and Rivera, the appeal waiver was included in a plea agreement. Here, by contrast, Stevens was found guilty after a jury trial, and the appeal waiver was incorporated in a subsequent stipulation concerning sentencing issues. In the case of a plea agreement, Fed.R.Crim.P. 11 requires a colloquy to ensure that the defendant's guilty plea is knowing and voluntary. A number of plea agreement cases have considered whether there must in addition be a colloquy explicitly addressed to a waiver-of-appeal provision to render the waiver enforceable. 39 While some cases express a preference for a specifically directed colloquy, see, e.g., United States v. Marin, 961 F.2d 493, 496 (4th Cir.1992); United States v. Davis, 954 F.2d 182, 186 & n. 1 (4th Cir.1992), the preference is generally not imposed as a requirement if there is other evidence in the record adequate to establish that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his appeal rights. See, e.g., United States v. DeSantiago-Martinez, 38 F.3d 394, 395 (9th Cir.1994), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 939, 130 L.Ed.2d 883 (1995); United States v. Bushert, 997 F.2d 1343, 1351 (11th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 652, 130 L.Ed.2d 556 (1994); Marin, 961 F.2d at 496; Davis, 954 F.2d at 186 & n. 1. 40 In this case, as noted above, there was no inquiry whether the defendant had agreed to, or even knew the contents of, the Stipulation. As the record on appeal affords no basis to know whether the defendant knowingly agreed to the Stipulation, much less the waiver of appeal contained in it, we will remand to the district court. In the district court, the defendant may demand a hearing as to whether he knowingly and voluntarily stipulated to waive appeal. If the court determines the defendant did knowingly and voluntarily waive appeal, the district court need not alter the prison term allocation, notwithstanding our foregoing discussion. If the defendant did not waive appeal, then at the government's option the court shall either amend the sentence to conform to Sec. 2J1.7, as specified above, or vacate the sentence agreement in its entirety and proceed to impose sentence anew. The defendant may not, however (unless the government consents), retain the benefits of the sentencing agreement while being relieved of its burdens. Upon remand, the defendant shall advise the district court whether he wishes to proceed with his challenge to the Stipulation or to reaffirm the Stipulation and accept the periods of imprisonment previously imposed. 41