Filed: Feb. 02, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-4493 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. PAMELA KAY OXENDINE, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Greenville. Louise W. Flanagan, District Judge. (4:14-cr-00075-FL-2) Submitted: December 14, 2015 Decided: February 2, 2016 Before THACKER and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per cur
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-4493 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. PAMELA KAY OXENDINE, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Greenville. Louise W. Flanagan, District Judge. (4:14-cr-00075-FL-2) Submitted: December 14, 2015 Decided: February 2, 2016 Before THACKER and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curi..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-4493
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
PAMELA KAY OXENDINE,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Greenville. Louise W. Flanagan,
District Judge. (4:14-cr-00075-FL-2)
Submitted: December 14, 2015 Decided: February 2, 2016
Before THACKER and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
John K. Wiles, CHESHIRE PARKER SCHNEIDER & BRYAN, PLLC, Raleigh,
North Carolina, for Appellant. Jennifer P. May-Parker,
Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Pamela Kay Oxendine pled guilty, pursuant to a written plea
agreement, to possession of stolen firearms and aiding and
abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(j), 924(a)(2), 2
(2012). The district court sentenced Oxendine to a within-
Guidelines sentence of 37 months’ imprisonment. On appeal,
Oxendine argues that the district court erroneously calculated
her Guidelines range and that she was denied effective
assistance of counsel at sentencing.
The Government seeks to enforce the appellate waiver
provision of the plea agreement and has moved to dismiss
Oxendine’s appeal. In response, Oxendine asserts that the
issues she raises on appeal are outside the scope of the waiver.
A defendant may, in a valid plea agreement, waive the right
to appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (2012). United States v.
Wiggins,
905 F.2d 51, 53 (4th Cir. 1990). Generally, “if the
record establishes that the waiver is valid and that the issue
being appealed is within the scope of the waiver,” it is
enforceable. United States v. Thornsbury,
670 F.3d 532, 537
(4th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). A
defendant’s waiver is valid if she agreed to it “knowingly and
intelligently.” United States v. Manigan,
592 F.3d 621, 627
(4th Cir. 2010). “Although the validity of an appeal waiver
often depends on the adequacy of the plea colloquy, the issue
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ultimately is evaluated by reference to the totality of the
circumstances,” United States v. Davis,
689 F.3d 349, 355 (4th
Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted), such as “the
experience and conduct of the accused, as well as the accused’s
educational background and familiarity with the terms of the
plea agreement.”
Thornsbury, 670 F.3d at 537 (internal
quotation marks omitted). We review de novo whether a defendant
has effectively waived her right to appeal. United States v.
Copeland,
707 F.3d 522, 528 (4th Cir. 2013).
In her plea agreement, Oxendine agreed to waive her right
to appeal a within-Guidelines sentence, but reserved her right
to raise on appeal issues of ineffective assistance of counsel
or prosecutorial misconduct. Oxendine does not challenge the
validity of her waiver of appellate rights, but contends that
the issues she raises on appeal are outside the scope of the
waiver.
As the district court imposed a sentence within the
Guidelines range established at sentencing, Oxendine’s challenge
to her sentence falls within the scope of the waiver and may not
be reviewed by this court. However, Oxendine’s claim that
counsel was ineffective at sentencing is outside the scope of
the waiver and is subject to appellate review. Nevertheless,
claims of ineffective assistance of counsel should be raised in
a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion rather than on direct appeal,
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unless the appellate record conclusively demonstrates
ineffective assistance. United States v. Benton,
523 F.3d 424,
435 (4th Cir. 2008). Because the record here does not
conclusively show that counsel was constitutionally ineffective,
we decline to review this claim on direct appeal.
Accordingly, we grant in part and deny in part the
Government’s motion to dismiss, and dismiss the appeal. We
dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
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