In re: Sealed Case (PUBLIC OPINION), No. 20-3076 (D.C. Cir. 2022)

Appellant shipped a package containing chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl from China to Peru. Appellant pleaded guilty to three counts relating to the importation of controlled substances and listed chemicals into the United States. He raised a single challenge on appeal: he contends that there is no importation into the United States when a package stops temporarily in United States territory en route to a foreign destination without ever clearing United States customs.
 
The DC Circuit dismissed the appeal. The court explained that Appellant’s plea agreement contains an appeal waiver that expressly bars him from raising the argument he now seeks to press on appeal. In the circumstances of this case, the appeal waiver is enforceable. The court explained that hat an appeal waiver generally meets the requirement that it be “knowing” when “the defendant is aware of and understands the risks involved” and “his choice is made with eyes open.”
 
Here, Appellant does not—and could not—claim to have misunderstood the relevant risks. The court further wrote that Appellant made the decision to forgo the uncertainty of filing a motion to dismiss and to instead accept the government’s plea offer. The agreement he signed memorialized the benefits and costs of that decision. He obtained the benefit of the government’s dropping three additional counts against him. In exchange, he waived his right to raise certain objections to his counts of conviction in any appeal, thereby securing a benefit for the government, too.