United States v. Jason Galloway, 917 F.3d 604

On Jan 21, 2016 police arrested Jason Galloway after a domestic-violence call; officers found four bullets in his pocket. Galloway, a convicted felon, was indicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
Galloway pleaded guilty to the ammunition count pursuant to a written plea agreement that included an appellate waiver covering conviction and sentences, conditional on whether the court deviated from any party’s sentencing "recommendation."
At the change-of-plea hearing the district court read the waiver aloud and Galloway affirmed he understood and voluntarily agreed.
The probation officer calculated a Guidelines range of 130–162 months (capped at the 120-month statutory maximum). The government requested the full 120 months; defense counsel did not file objections to the calculations but argued for a downward departure at sentencing.
The district court sentenced Galloway to 120 months and stated that the sentence was "pursuant to the plea agreement" and that Galloway had waived his appellate rights. Galloway appealed, challenging the guideline calculation as unpreserved.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Galloway’s appellate waiver bars his appeal	Galloway: waiver in plea applies only if court imposes a sentence higher or lower than any party’s "recommendation"; because defense made no concrete numeric recommendation, waiver does not apply	Government: defense counsel’s request for a below-guideline departure constituted a "recommendation," so the appellate waiver applies	Court: waiver applies; defense counsel’s advocacy for a downward departure qualifies as a "recommendation," so appeal is barred

United States v. Worthen, 842 F.3d 552 (7th Cir. 2016) (general enforceability of appeal waivers)
United States v. Williams, 184 F.3d 666 (7th Cir. 1999) (written waiver and voluntariness support enforceability)
United States v. Malone, 815 F.3d 367 (7th Cir. 2016) (plea-agreement interpretation under contract principles)
United States v. Chapa, 602 F.3d 865 (7th Cir. 2010) (scope of appeal waivers)
United States v. O'Doherty, 643 F.3d 209 (7th Cir. 2011) (construe ambiguous plea terms for defendant’s benefit)
United States v. Lewis, 842 F.3d 467 (7th Cir. 2016) (distinguishing advocacy from binding recommendation)
United States v. Salazar, 453 F.3d 911 (7th Cir. 2006) (government may breach recommended sentence commitments by inconsistent advocacy)
United States v. Jemison, 237 F.3d 911 (7th Cir. 2001) (if waiver applies, appellate court dismisses appeal)