U.S. v. Watson

Ct. of Appeals denied government’s motion to dismiss defendant's appeal, where said motion was filed prior to defendant’s opening brief, and where said motion was based on waiver of defendant’s appeal rights that was contained in defendant’s guilty plea agreement. Ct. of Appeals established new procedure for resolving cases with appeal waivers, in that: (1) any motion to dismiss filed prior to defendant filing opening brief will be construed only as government’s notice of intent to stand on waiver issue; (2) notice of intent does not alter briefing schedule or obligations of defendant’s counsel, who will be free, if appropriate, to file brief on merits of case or Anders brief; (3) if defendant files merits-based brief, government may move to dismiss appeal based on waiver; and (4) if government fails to file either notice of intent or motion to dismiss (or if motion's panel denies motion to dismiss appeal), government remains free to argue for enforcement of waiver in its own brief.