United States v. Luis Rodriguez, No. 22-1725 (8th Cir. 2022)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: [Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Melloy, and Kobes, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. Anders case. Defendant's valid, enforceable and applicable appeal waiver precludes review of the sentencing issues he raises, and the appeal is dismissed. [ August 04, 2022 ]
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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 22-1725 ___________________________ United States of America lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee v. Luis Ortiz Rodriguez lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield ____________ Submitted: August 2, 2022 Filed: August 5, 2022 [Unpublished] ____________ Before GRUENDER, MELLOY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Luis Ortiz Rodriguez appeals the sentence the district court1 imposed after he pleaded guilty to drug and firearm offenses, pursuant to a plea agreement containing 1 The Honorable Stephen R. Bough, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. an appeal waiver. His counsel has moved to withdraw and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the reasonableness of the prison sentence on the drug conviction and raising claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon de novo review, we conclude the appeal waiver is valid, enforceable, and applicable to the sentencing issues raised in this appeal. See United States v. Scott, 627 F.3d 702, 704 (8th Cir. 2010) (standard of review). Rodriguez’s arguments fall within the scope of the waiver, the record shows he entered into the plea agreement and waiver knowingly and voluntarily, and no miscarriage of justice would result from enforcing the waiver. See United States v. Andis, 333 F.3d 886, 889-92 (8th Cir. 2003) (en banc); Nguyen v. United States, 114 F.3d 699, 703 (8th Cir. 1997). We will not review Rodriguez’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal. See United States v. Ramirez-Hernandez, 449 F.3d 824, 827 (8th Cir. 2006). Finally, we have independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), and have found no non-frivolous issues for review outside the scope of the appeal waiver. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. ______________________________ -2-
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