United States v. Ronald Finney

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 26-1170 ___________________________ United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Ronald Finney Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis ____________ Submitted: July 28, 2026 Filed: July 31, 2026 [Unpublished] ____________ Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Ronald Finney received a 130-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to firearm and drug offenses. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846.

An Anders brief suggests the district court 1 imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

Upon careful review, we conclude that an enforceable appeal waiver covers this issue. See United States v. Scott, 627 F.3d 702, 704 (8th Cir. 2010) (reviewing the validity of an appeal waiver de novo); United States v. Andis, 333 F.3d 886, 889– (8th Cir. 2003) (en banc) (explaining that an appeal waiver will be enforced if the appeal falls within its scope, the defendant knowingly and voluntarily entered into the plea agreement and the waiver, and enforcing the waiver would not result in a miscarriage of justice); see also Hunter v. United States, 146 S. Ct. 1702, 1714 (2026) (confirming that the miscarriage-of-justice exception is “narrow” (quoting Andis, 333 F.3d at 891)). We have also independently reviewed the record and conclude that no other non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988). We accordingly dismiss the appeal and grant counsel permission to withdraw.