U.S. v. Onamuti

Ct. of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to consider defendant’s appeal of Dist. Ct.’s denial of defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of identity theft and tax fraud, where plea agreement contained clause waiving defendant’s right to appeal his conviction “on any ground” except for claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. While defendant claimed in his motion to withdraw his guilty plea that his lawyer failed to advise him that his convictions would subject him to mandatory deportation, record showed during plea colloquy that defendant had confirmed that by pleading guilty he “may very well be deported,” and that he was waiving his appellate rights. Moreover, plaintiff’s precise claim on appeal was that Dist. Ct. had improperly failed to hold evidentiary hearing on his motion to withdraw his guilty plea, such that language in waiver clause applied to instant appeal. Also, appellate counsel for defendant conceded that defendant was not asserting ineffective assistance of counsel claim on appeal.