Court Opinion

ID: 9397899
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-26 21:01:43.964635+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:28.596197
License: Public Domain

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                                            UNPUBLISHED

                               UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                   FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                              No. 22-4367

        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                            Plaintiff - Appellee,

                     v.

        ANTONIO XAVIER WILSON, a/k/a Push It,

                            Defendant - Appellant.

        Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
        Columbia. Terry L. Wooten, Senior District Judge. (3:19-cr-00986-TLW-7)

        Submitted: May 23, 2023                                           Decided: May 25, 2023

        Before AGEE, WYNN, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.

        Affirmed in part and dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        ON BRIEF: Justin M. Kata, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. Benjamin Neale
        Garner, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Columbia, South Carolina,
        for Appellee.

        Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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        PER CURIAM:

               Antonio Xavier Wilson pled guilty, pursuant to a written plea agreement, to

        conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine

        base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), 846. The district court sentenced

        him to 175 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders

        v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), stating that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal

        but questioning whether Wilson’s guilty plea is valid and whether his sentence is

        reasonable. Wilson was informed of his right to file a pro se supplemental brief, but he has

        not done so. The Government moves to dismiss Wilson’s appeal pursuant to the appellate

        waiver in his plea agreement. We affirm in part and dismiss in part.

               “We review an appellate waiver de novo to determine whether the waiver is

        enforceable” and “will enforce the waiver if it is valid and if the issue being appealed falls

        within the scope of the waiver.” United States v. Boutcher, 998 F.3d 603, 608 (4th Cir.

        2021) (internal quotation marks omitted). An appellate waiver is valid if the defendant

        enters it “knowingly and intelligently, a determination that we make by considering the

        totality of the circumstances.” Id. “Generally though, if a district court questions a

        defendant regarding the waiver of appellate rights during the [Fed. R. Crim. P. 11] colloquy

        and the record indicates that the defendant understood the full significance of the waiver,

        the waiver is valid.” United States v. McCoy, 895 F.3d 358, 362 (4th Cir. 2018) (internal

        quotation marks omitted).

               Our review of the record, including the plea agreement and the transcript of the Fed.

        R. Crim. P. 11 hearing, confirms that Wilson knowingly and intelligently waived his right

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        to appeal his conviction and sentence, with limited exceptions not applicable here. We

        therefore conclude that the waiver is valid and enforceable. Accordingly, we grant the

        Government’s motion to dismiss in part and dismiss the appeal as to all issues within the

        waiver’s scope, including the sentencing issue raised by Anders counsel.

               The waiver provision, however, does not preclude our review pursuant to Anders of

        the validity of the guilty plea. See id. at 364. We therefore deny in part the Government’s

        motion to dismiss. Because Wilson did not seek to withdraw his guilty plea, we review the

        adequacy of the Rule 11 hearing for plain error. United States v. Williams, 811 F.3d 621,

        622 (4th Cir. 2016); see United States v. Harris, 890 F.3d 480, 491 (4th Cir. 2018)

        (discussing plain error standard). Our review of the record leads us to conclude that Wilson

        entered his guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily, that a factual basis supported the plea

        and all elements of his offense, and that his guilty plea is valid. See United States v.

        DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 116, 119-20 (4th Cir. 1991).

               In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have

        found no potentially meritorious issues outside the scope of Wilson’s valid appellate

        waiver. We therefore dismiss the appeal as to all issues within the waiver’s scope and

        affirm the remainder of the district court’s judgment. This court requires that counsel

        inform Wilson, in writing, of the right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States

        for further review. If Wilson requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes that such

        a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to withdraw

        from representation. Counsel’s motion must state that a copy thereof was served on

        Wilson. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are

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        adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the

        decisional process.

                                                                          AFFIRMED IN PART,
                                                                          DISMISSED IN PART

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