U.S. v. SEGARRA, 582 F.3d 1269 (11th Cir. September 15, 2009)
The Eleventh Circuit court of Appeals dismissed the defendant’s appeal as barred by the appeal waiver in his plea agreement. Defendant pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, and possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The plea barred direct or collateral appeal unless the sentence imposed exceeded the guidelines range determined by the court or exceeded the statutory maximum. The district court sentenced the defendant to 120 months for crack offense and a mandatory 60 month term for a firearm offense, to be served consecutively. The defendant argued on appeal that the imposition of consecutive sentences therefore exceeded the statutory maximum sentence and the applicable guidelines range. However, the Eleventh Circuit held that because the consecutive sentences were mandatory and the term of imprisonment for the firearm offense was set by statute, the sentence imposed did not exceed the statutory maximum permitted or the applicable guidelines range; defendant’s argument on appeal does not fit within any of the appeal waiver exceptions.
