933 F.3d 269
3rd Cir.2019Background
- Defendant Ronald Damon pleaded guilty to distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 50+ grams of crack cocaine and entered a written plea agreement that included an appellate/collateral-attack waiver.
- Schedule A of the plea agreement waived "any appeal ... which challenges the sentence imposed by the sentencing court if that sentence falls within or below the Guidelines range" tied to an agreed offense level.
- The plea agreement explicitly stated the judge must impose at least a five-year term of supervised release pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 841.
- Damon was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment (below the Guidelines range because of a 5K1.1 motion) plus a five-year term of supervised release; he acknowledged the waiver at the Rule 11 hearing.
- After release from prison and ~32 months into supervised release, Damon moved under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(1) to terminate the remainder of his supervised release.
- The District Court denied the motion, finding the plea-waiver bars the challenge; Damon appealed and the Third Circuit reviewed whether the waiver covers his § 3583 motion.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Damon) | Defendant's Argument (Government) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Damon’s appellate/collateral-attack waiver bars his appeal of a district-court denial of a § 3583(e)(1) motion to terminate supervised release | The waiver should not reach post-sentencing, collateral motions to modify supervised release; his § 3583 motion is a later, separate proceeding and thus outside the waiver’s temporal scope | The waiver covers any appeal that "challenges the sentence imposed," and supervised release is part of the original sentence; a motion to shorten it challenges that sentence and falls within the waiver | The Third Circuit held the waiver bars the appeal: "sentence" unambiguously includes supervised release and the motion challenges that sentence, so the waiver is enforceable and affirms the denial |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Wilson, 707 F.3d 412 (3d Cir.) (broad appellate waivers can include supervised-release terms)
- United States v. Goodson, 544 F.3d 529 (3d Cir. 2008) (term and conditions of supervised release are components of a sentence for waiver purposes)
- United States v. Khattak, 273 F.3d 557 (3d Cir. 2001) (enforcing plea-agreement waivers)
- United States v. Corso, 549 F.3d 921 (3d Cir. 2008) (test for enforcing appellate waivers: scope, knowing/voluntary, miscarriage of justice)
- United States v. Scallon, 683 F.3d 680 (6th Cir. 2012) (appeal from denial of § 3583 motion falls within broad plea-waiver)
- United States v. Island, 916 F.3d 249 (3d Cir. 2019) (supervised-release term constitutes part of the original sentence)
- United States v. Floyd, 428 F.3d 513 (3d Cir. 2005) (interpretation should give meaning to each provision of plea agreement)
- United States v. Williams, 510 F.3d 416 (3d Cir. 2007) (defendants held to plea bargains when seeking benefits without burdens)
- United States v. Banks, 743 F.3d 56 (3d Cir.) (plain meaning of waiver language controls)
- United States v. Gwinnett, 483 F.3d 200 (3d Cir. 2007) (court may decline to reach unresolved statutory issues when waiver dispositive)
- Haymond v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2369 (2019) (plurality: supervised release is part of the final sentence)
- Mont v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 1826 (2019) (supervised release is a form of punishment and part of the sentence)