Filed: May 14, 2010
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-4969 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. AGUSTIN PARDO MACIAS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Chief District Judge. (3:07-cr-00233-RJC-4) Submitted: April 19, 2010 Decided: May 14, 2010 Before NIEMEYER, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Denzil H. Fo
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-4969 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. AGUSTIN PARDO MACIAS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Chief District Judge. (3:07-cr-00233-RJC-4) Submitted: April 19, 2010 Decided: May 14, 2010 Before NIEMEYER, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Denzil H. For..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 08-4969
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
AGUSTIN PARDO MACIAS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert J. Conrad,
Jr., Chief District Judge. (3:07-cr-00233-RJC-4)
Submitted: April 19, 2010 Decided: May 14, 2010
Before NIEMEYER, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Denzil H. Forrester, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Edward R. Ryan, United States Attorney, Charlotte, North
Carolina, Amy E. Ray, Assistant United States Attorney,
Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Agustin Pardo Macias pleaded guilty, pursuant to a
plea agreement, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and
possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, in
violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846 (2006). The plea
agreement included a waiver of Macias’ right to appeal his
conviction or sentence, except for claims of prosecutorial
misconduct or ineffective assistance of counsel. The district
court sentenced Macias to seventy months of imprisonment, and he
timely appealed.
On appeal, Macias contends that the Government’s late
filing of objections to the draft presentence investigation
report (PSR) breached the plea agreement and constituted
prosecutorial misconduct. He argues that the appeal waiver
should not apply to bar his assertions of sentencing error. The
Government argues that there was no prosecutorial misconduct and
the appeal waiver should be enforced.
This court reviews the validity of an appeal waiver de
novo, United States v. Brown,
232 F.3d 399, 402-03 (4th Cir.
2000), and will uphold a waiver of appellate rights if the
waiver is valid and the issue being appealed is covered by the
waiver. United States v. Blick,
408 F.3d 162, 168 (4th Cir.
2005). A waiver is valid if the defendant’s agreement to the
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waiver was knowing and voluntary. United States v. Marin,
961
F.2d 493, 496 (4th Cir. 1992); United States v. Wessells,
936
F.2d 165, 167 (4th Cir. 1991).
To determine whether a waiver is knowing and
intelligent, this court examines “the totality of the
circumstances, including the experience and conduct of the
accused, as well as the accused’s educational background and
familiarity with the terms of the plea agreement.” United
States v. General,
278 F.3d 389, 400 (4th Cir. 2002) (internal
quotation marks and citation omitted). Generally, if a district
court fully questions a defendant regarding the waiver of
appellate rights during the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 colloquy, the
waiver is valid.
Wessells, 936 F.2d at 167-68.
In this case, Macias does not assert that his waiver
was not voluntary, and our review of the record leads us to
conclude that his waiver was knowing and voluntary. Moreover,
the issues he seeks to raise on appeal are within the scope of
the waiver. We also conclude that the Government’s late filing
of objections to the PSR neither breached the plea agreement nor
amounted to prosecutorial misconduct. Thus, the exceptions to
Macias’ waiver of his right to appeal do not apply.
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal. We dispense with
oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
3
adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
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