Court Opinion

ID: 9906330
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-01 19:00:43.305102+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:24:15.386358
License: Public Domain

Appellate Case: 23-5097     Document: 010110961761       Date Filed: 12/01/2023     Page: 1
                                                                                   FILED
                                                                       United States Court of Appeals
                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                          Tenth Circuit

                              FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT                         December 1, 2023
                          _________________________________
                                                                          Christopher M. Wolpert
                                                                              Clerk of Court
  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

        Plaintiff - Appellee,

  v.                                                          No. 23-5097
                                                    (D.C. No. 4:21-CR-00361-JFH-1)
  CAMERON KELLY McABEE,                                       (N.D. Okla.)

        Defendant - Appellant.
                       _________________________________

                              ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
                          _________________________________

 Before BACHARACH, McHUGH, and EID, Circuit Judges.
                  _________________________________

       Cameron Kelly McAbee pleaded guilty to several crimes and received a life

 sentence. He has appealed even though his plea agreement included a broad appeal

 waiver. The government now moves to enforce the waiver. See United States v.

 Hahn, 359 F.3d 1315, 1328 (10th Cir. 2004) (en banc) (per curiam).

       We will enforce an appeal waiver if (1) the appeal falls within the waiver’s

 scope, (2) the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived the right to appeal, and

 (3) enforcing the waiver will not result in a miscarriage of justice. See id. at 1325.

 Mr. McAbee does not dispute that his waiver covers this appeal or that he knowingly

       *
          This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines
 of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for
 its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
Appellate Case: 23-5097     Document: 010110961761          Date Filed: 12/01/2023   Page: 2

 and voluntarily waived his rights. And so we need not address those issues. See

 United States v. Porter, 405 F.3d 1136, 1143 (10th Cir. 2005).

        We turn, then, to whether enforcing Mr. McAbee’s waiver will result in a

 miscarriage of justice. On this question, Mr. McAbee bears the burden. See United

 States v. Anderson, 374 F.3d 955, 959 (10th Cir. 2004). Enforcing an appeal waiver

 will result in a miscarriage of justice if (1) the district court relied on an

 impermissible sentencing factor; (2) ineffective assistance of counsel in negotiating

 the waiver makes it invalid; (3) the sentence exceeds the statutory maximum; or

 (4) the waiver is otherwise unlawful, seriously affecting the fairness, integrity, or

 public reputation of the proceedings. See Hahn, 359 F.3d at 1327.

        Mr. McAbee argues that enforcing his waiver will result in a miscarriage of

 justice because the district court miscalculated the sentencing-guidelines range.

 Through a process of elimination, we understand this argument to claim that the

 waiver is otherwise unlawful. An alleged sentencing error, however, does not

 suggest that the waiver is unlawful: “Our inquiry is not whether the sentence is

 unlawful, but whether the waiver itself is unlawful because of some procedural error

 or because no waiver is possible.” United States v. Sandoval, 477 F.3d 1204, 1208

 (10th Cir. 2007). Mr. McAbee has therefore failed to show that enforcing his appeal

 waiver will result in a miscarriage of justice.

                                              2
Appellate Case: 23-5097   Document: 010110961761     Date Filed: 12/01/2023   Page: 3

       We grant the government’s motion to enforce the appeal waiver. We dismiss

 this appeal.

                                         Entered for the Court
                                         Per Curiam

                                        3