U.S. v. Worthen

Defendant waived his right to appeal his conviction on charge under 18 USC sections 924(j) and (2) arising out of his use of firearm to kill owner of gun store that formed basis of his Hobbs Act robbery conviction, where defendant had entered into plea agreement that called for his waiver of his right to appeal his convictions or sentence. While defendant argued that instant waiver should not apply since his Hobbs Act conviction was not “crime of violence” that would support his firearm conviction, defendant’s issue on appeal would require Ct. to determine validity of his firearm conviction, which would run contrary to terms of his appeal waiver. As such, Ct. rejected defendant’s implicit argument that appeal waiver is enforceable, unless appellant would succeed on merits of his appeal.