Court Opinion

ID: 9444437
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 21:00:58.478248+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:31:46.809823
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 21-4178      Doc: 49         Filed: 08/02/2023     Pg: 1 of 2

                                             UNPUBLISHED

                               UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                   FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                               No. 21-4178

        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                             Plaintiff - Appellee,

                      v.

        BRIAN K. GRIFFEY,

                             Defendant - Appellant.

        Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at
        Clarksburg. Thomas S. Kleeh, Chief District Judge. (1:18-cr-00058-TSK-MJA-1)

        Submitted: July 20, 2023                                          Decided: August 2, 2023

        Before WYNN and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.

        Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        ON BRIEF: Jenny R. Thoma, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER,
        Clarksburg, West Virginia; Charles T. Berry, Kingmont, West Virginia, for Appellant.
        Andrew R. Cogar, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
        ATTORNEY, Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellee.

        Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 21-4178      Doc: 49         Filed: 08/02/2023    Pg: 2 of 2

        PER CURIAM:

               Brian Griffey appeals his conviction and 180-month sentence following his guilty

        plea to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, in violation of 18

        U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(e). The Government has moved for a remand, conceding that

        Griffey’s conditional guilty plea is invalid. Griffey agrees that his plea is invalid but

        opposes the motion, as he has raised additional issues on appeal.

               Before pleading guilty, Griffey filed a motion to suppress. The motion was referred

        to a magistrate judge, who issued a report recommending denial of the motion to suppress.

        Griffey did not file objections to the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation.

        Griffey subsequently entered into a plea agreement with the Government conditioned upon

        his ability to appeal the denial of the motion to suppress. The district court, Griffey’s

        counsel, and the Government believed that Griffey had preserved his right to appeal the

        suppression issue through the conditional guilty plea. However, because Griffey failed to

        object to the magistrate judge’s report recommending denial, he waived appellate review.

        Accordingly, because the right to appeal the suppression issue was illusory, Griffey’s

        conditional guilty plea is invalid. See United States v. Bundy, 392 F.3d 641, 649-50 (4th

        Cir. 2004).

               We therefore vacate Griffey’s conviction, grant the Government’s motion to

        remand, and remand this case to the district court for further proceedings. We dispense

        with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the

        materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

                                                                   VACATED AND REMANDED

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