Court Opinion

ID: 9825950
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 15:00:52.004592+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:21.532047
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 22-13491    Document: 50-1     Date Filed: 09/01/2023   Page: 1 of 5

                                                  [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                   In the
                United States Court of Appeals
                        For the Eleventh Circuit

                          ____________________

                                No. 22-13491
                          Non-Argument Calendar
                          ____________________

       UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                      Plaintiﬀ-Appellee,
       versus
       SHELTON MICHAEL ANDREWS,

                                                  Defendant-Appellant.

                          ____________________

                 Appeal from the United States District Court
                     for the Southern District of Florida
                    D.C. Docket No. 2:21-cr-14045-DLG-1
                          ____________________
USCA11 Case: 22-13491     Document: 50-1      Date Filed: 09/01/2023    Page: 2 of 5

       2                      Opinion of the Court                22-13491

       Before JILL PRYOR, LAGOA, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges.
       PER CURIAM:
              Shelton Michael Andrews appeals his 240-month total im-
       prisonment sentence for possession with intent to distribute
       50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a fire-
       arm and ammunition by a convicted felon, arguing that his sen-
       tence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The govern-
       ment argues that Andrews’s appeal should be dismissed based on
       the appeal waiver in his plea agreement. After carefully examining
       the record, we agree with the government. Accordingly, we dis-
       miss this appeal.
                                        I.
              Andrews pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distrib-
       ute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21
       U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(viii), and possession of a firearm and
       ammunition by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
       § 922(g)(1). Andrews pleaded guilty subject to the terms of a writ-
       ten plea agreement.
              In his written plea agreement, Andrews acknowledged his
       right to appeal and agreed to waive his appellate rights under cer-
       tain conditions. The plea agreement states that, in exchange for cer-
       tain government actions, Andrews “waive[d] all rights conferred by
       [] [18 U.S.C. §] 3742 and [28 U.S.C. §] 1291 to appeal any sentence
       imposed, including any restitution order, or to appeal the manner
       in which the sentence was imposed.” Doc. 27 at 5. There are two
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       22-13491              Opinion of the Court                        3

       exceptions to this appellate waiver listed in the agreement. First,
       the agreement states that the waiver would not apply if “the sen-
       tence exceeds the maximum [sentence] permitted by statute or is
       the result of an upward departure and/or upward variance from
       the advisory guideline range that the Court establishes at sentenc-
       ing.” Id. Second, the agreement states that if the United States ap-
       peals Andrews’s sentence, then he will be released from the waiver.
       Moreover, the plea agreement states that Andrews had discussed
       the agreement with his attorney and agreed to request a finding
       that he had knowingly and voluntarily waived his appellate rights.
       Andrews, his counsel, and counsel for the government signed the
       plea agreement.
              Andrews then affirmed that he understood the agreement at
       a change of plea hearing. Andrews was subsequently sentenced to
       a term of 240 months of imprisonment—240 months for the meth-
       amphetamine charge and 120 months for the felon-in-possession
       charge, to run concurrently—which was below the applicable
       guideline range and the statutory maximum. Andrews appeals that
       sentence.
                                       II.
              The government argues that Andrews’s appeal waiver pre-
       cludes this appeal. If the government is correct, we may not address
       the arguments Andrews has raised about his sentence’s alleged pro-
       cedural and substantive unreasonableness. As we will discuss be-
       low, the appeal waiver applies in this case, and our inquiry starts
       and ends with the appeal waiver.
USCA11 Case: 22-13491      Document: 50-1     Date Filed: 09/01/2023     Page: 4 of 5

       4                      Opinion of the Court                 22-13491

               We review the validity of an appeal waiver de novo. See
       United States v. Johnson, 541 F.3d 1064, 1066 (11th Cir. 2008). An ap-
       peal waiver will be enforced if it was made knowingly and volun-
       tarily. See United States v. Bushert, 997 F.2d 1343, 1351 (11th Cir.
       1993). To establish that the waiver was made knowingly and vol-
       untarily, the government must show either that (1) the district
       court specifically questioned the defendant about the waiver dur-
       ing the plea colloquy, or (2) the record makes clear that the defend-
       ant otherwise understood the full significance of the waiver. See id.
       The government cannot show that an appeal waiver was knowing
       and voluntary from an examination of the agreement’s text alone.
       See id. at 1352. There is a strong presumption that statements made
       during the Rule 11 colloquy are true. See United States v. Medlock, 12
       F.3d 185, 187 (11th Cir. 1994).
              In United States v. Boyd, 975 F.3d 1185 (11th Cir. 2020), we
       held that an appeal waiver was enforceable even when the district
       court did not completely discuss the exceptions to the waiver. See
       id. at 1192. We held that the “touchstone” for determining a
       waiver’s enforceability “is whether it was clearly conveyed to the
       defendant that he was giving up his right to appeal under most cir-
       cumstances.” Id. (cleaned up).
               Here, the appeal waiver applies on its own terms because
       Andrews was sentenced to a term below the calculated guideline
       range and the statutory maximum, and the government has not
       appealed. Therefore, neither textual exception to the waiver ap-
       plies. Furthermore, the appeal waiver is enforceable because the
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       22-13491              Opinion of the Court                       5

       district court questioned Andrews about the waiver and its excep-
       tions and conveyed to him that he was waiving his right to appeal
       his sentence in most circumstances. See id. The appeal waiver was
       clear and unequivocal, it was explained to Andrews in court, and
       Andrews orally affirmed in court that he understood the appeal
       waiver and its exceptions. Thus, the appeal waiver is enforceable.
       As a result, Andrews’s claims of unreasonableness are barred by the
       appeal waiver; and we do not consider them. Accordingly, we dis-
       miss this appeal pursuant to the appeal waiver in Andrews’s plea
       agreement.
                                      III.
       For the reasons stated above, we DISMISS Andrews’s appeal.