US v. Jose Mejia, No. 11-4046 (4th Cir. 2011)

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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 11-4046 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOSE RIVERA MEJIA, a/k/a Jose Rivera, a/k/a Jose Rivera Mejia, a/k/a Jose Rivera Mejia, a/k/a Jose Rivera Mejia, a/k/a Jose Simon Rivera, Angel Simon Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt. Alexander Williams, Jr., District Judge. (8:09-cr-00357-AW-1) Submitted: September 8, 2011 Decided: September 30, 2011 Before NIEMEYER, KING, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Ron Earnest, LAW OFFICE OF RON EARNEST, Takoma Park, Maryland, for Appellant. Robert K. Hur, Assistant United States Attorney, Mara Zusman Greenberg, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Jose written plea Rivera Mejia agreement, to pleaded guilty, illegal reentry pursuant into to the a United States by an alien who previously had been deported following a conviction for an aggravated felony, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b)(2) (2006). The district court sentenced Mejia to forty-one months of imprisonment, and Mejia now appeals. Counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), finding no meritorious grounds for appeal but sentence. agreement questioning Counsel included the concedes, a reasonableness however, that of Mejia s Mejia s waiver-of-appellate-rights plea provision. Despite being informed of his right to do so, Mejia has not filed a pro se supplemental brief. The appeal based Government on the has filed appellate a waiver motion to in plea the dismiss the agreement, which Mejia does not dispute. For the reasons that follow, we grant the Government s motion and dismiss the appeal. Pursuant to a plea agreement, a defendant may waive his appellate rights under 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (2006). States v. Wiggins, 905 F.2d 51, 53 (4th Cir. 1990). United This court reviews the validity of an appellate waiver de novo, and will enforce the waiver if it is valid and the issue on appeal is 2 United States v. Blick, 408 within the scope of the waiver. F.3d 162, 168 (4th Cir. 2005). An appeal waiver is valid if the defendant knowingly and intelligently determine agreed whether a to waiver the is waiver. knowing Id. and at 169. To 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). We have thoroughly reviewed the record and conclude that Mejia knowingly and intelligently entered into the plea agreement and waived his right to appeal his conviction and sentence. We have examined the entire record in accordance with the requirements of Anders and have found no meritorious issues for appeal. Accordingly, we grant the Government s motion to dismiss the appeal. This writing, of court the requires right to that petition United States for further review. counsel the inform Supreme Mejia, Court of in the If Mejia requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel s motion must state that a copy thereof was served on Mejia. 3 We dispense with oral argument adequately because presented in the the facts and materials legal before contentions the court are and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 4

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