United States v. Washington
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
Gardener M. Washington pleaded guilty pursuant to a written plea agreement to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and three counts of possession of crack with intent to distribute, id. § 841(a)(1). The district court sentenced Washington to concurrent sentences totaling 168 months’ imprisonment
Counsel first considers whether Washington could challenge the voluntariness of his guilty pleas on the basis that the district court failed to comply with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11. (We assess this potential argument because after consulting with counsel Washington voiced a desire to have his pleas set aside. See United States v. Knox, 287 F.3d 667, 671 (7th Cir. 2002)). Washington did not move to withdraw his pleas in the district court; thus, only plain error could justify relief. See United States v. Vonn, 535 U.S. 55, 59, 122 S.Ct. 1043, 152 L.Ed.2d 90 (2002). Because the district court substantially complied with Rule 11,
That waiver renders Washington’s remaining potential argument—a sentencing challenge—frivolous. Counsel considers whether Washington could challenge the application of the guidelines used in calculating his terms of imprisonment and supervised release, but notes that Washington agreed to waive his right to appeal those terms so long as they were within the “maximum provided in the statute(s) of conviction.” Because the terms of imprisonment and supervised release are within the statutory máximums and the waiver is not subject to challenge, we agree with counsel that Washington could not advance a non-frivolous argument about his sentence. See United States v. Hare, 269 F.3d 859, 860 (7th Cir. 2001) (waiver of right to appeal sentence valid so long as underlying plea agreement valid).
Therefore, we GRANT counsel’s motion to withdraw and DISMISS Washington’s appeal.
. Rule 11 was amended effective December 1, 2002; we consider the version in effect at the time Washington entered his pleas in October 2001.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Gardener M. WASHINGTON
- Status
- Published