Fifth Circuit Applies Supreme Court's Hunter Ruling: Sentencing Errors Do Not Void Appeal Waiver, Meth Appeal Dismissed
On remand from the Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held on October 29 (No. 25-60017) that a defendant's appeal waiver is not undone by ordinary sentencing errors. Enforcing the waiver, the court dismissed the appeal of Rashon Jermaine Harris, leaving his 240-month (20-year) sentence intact.
Harris had pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Mississippi to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 240 months. He appealed the application of sentencing enhancements, including one for recklessly creating a substantial risk of death while fleeing law enforcement; the government argued he had waived his right to appeal in his plea agreement. A panel initially agreed and dismissed, and the Supreme Court sent the case back for reconsideration in light of its decision in Hunter, 608 U.S.
Writing for the court, Judge Stephen A. Higginson quoted Hunter: "Sentencing is a complex affair . . . in which it is unfortunate but inevitable that mistakes will occur. Such standard-fare errors in misapplying sentencing law cannot cancel an appeal waiver." The court found no miscarriage of justice on this record and dismissed the appeal.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：密西西比州 Hattiesburg 的法院大楼。CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A courthouse in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
