Court Opinion

ID: 9496179
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:19:35.132365+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:24.298486
License: Public Domain

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part, with whom McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge, joins.
I concur in parts I and II of the majority’s opinion in this case. The majority opinion carefully and correctly reviews this circuit’s law on the use of appeal waivers in plea agreements. Crucially, the majority reaffirms the limits we have imposed on use of those waivers, and provides for a miscarriage of justice exception. This exception is critical for reasons explained by the First Circuit in United States v. Teeter:
We caution, however, that because such waivers are made before any manifestation of sentencing error emerges, appellate courts must remain free to grant relief from them in egregious cases. When all is said and done, such waivers are meant to bring finality to proceedings conducted in the ordinary course, not to leave acquiescent defendants totally exposed to future vagaries (however harsh, unfair, or unforeseeable).
257 F.3d 14, 23-24 (1st Cir.2001); see also United States v. Khattak, 273 F.3d 557, 562 (3d Cir.2001) (declining to adopt a “blanket rule prohibiting all review” of waivers of appeal given the possibility of “unusual circumstances where an error amounting to a miscarriage of justice may invalidate the waiver”). The majority also offers district courts some sound guidance for ensuring that defendants enter into plea agreements and corresponding waivers knowingly and voluntarily.
*897The concurring opinion authored by Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold raises numerous carefully considered objections to the position of the majority. It is notable, however, that no circuit has followed the blanket rule prohibiting all review proposed by the concurrence. There is no doubt that reaching a clear and coherent definition of an illegal sentence poses difficulties, but it is not an impossibility. See United States v. Marin, 961 F.2d 493, 496 (4th Cir.1992) (providing examples of sentences based on race or in excess of the maximum statutory penalty as examples of illegal sentences for which appellate review is not waived). Allowing an exception for miscarriages of justice, an exception that is not allowed to swallow the rule, is the most prudent course of action.
Reaching the merits, I dissent from the majority opinion. The district court exceeded its discretion by imposing conditions of release on Mr. Andis that do not bear a reasonable relationship to either the nature and circumstances of the offense or the history and characteristics of the defendant as required by 18 U.S.C. § 3583(c) and section 5D1.3(b) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual. See United States v. Prendergast, 979 F.2d 1289, 1292-93 (8th Cir.1992) (explaining that the terms of supervised release must not involve a greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary to fulfill the goals of Congress and the Sentencing Commission). As this circuit noted in Prendergast, the conditions that restrict a probationer’s freedom must be “especially fine tuned.” Id. at 1293 (quoting United States v. Tolla, 781 F.2d 29, 34 (2d Cir.1986)).
The conditions of Mr. Andis’ release were not fine tuned to his crime or his individual situation. In fact, at sentencing the district court was exceedingly candid in explaining the process by which the conditions were imposed. “As I understand it, this is — these are standard conditions that the probation officers recommend to the Court in this building for this type of offense. And at this stage, I know of no judge who has refused to impose these restrictions.” Based on this statement, it is clear that the court accepted certain standard conditions that appear to have little or no relationship to the defendant.9
A district court can use nonjudicial officers, such as probation officers, to support judicial functions, “as long as a judicial officer retains and exercises ultimate responsibility.” See United States v. Kent, 209 F.3d 1073, 1078 (8th Cir.2000) (quoting United States v. Johnson, 48 F.3d 806, 808-09 (4th Cir.1995)) (emphasis in original). The practice of district courts should not be to adopt the recommendations of the probation report without making specific and reasoned determinations regarding the applicability of the special conditions of release.
Mr. Andis’ liberty interests may have been significantly curtailed without due consideration by the district court. The conditions imposed on Mr. Andis may well have been unreasonable and thus unauthorized by law. I would have remanded this case to the district court for further proceedings relating to the conditions of release.

. The district court did respond to the defendant's objection to the conditions of release by commenting, "I think all of these restrictions are appropriate for the conduct this defendant was engaging in.” However, the court offered no elaboration and did not specify how any of the special conditions applied to Mr. Andis’ crime or individual characteristics.