Juan Sebastian Perez pleaded guilty to child enticement, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. Following his plea, he was sentenced to 360 months of imprisonment. Perez subsequently filed an appeal, arguing that the district court abused its discretion by placing undue weight on the nature and circumstances of his offense under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and by failing to consider mitigating factors. The government moved to dismiss the appeal, citing an appeal waiver provision in Perez's plea agreement. The case reached the Eleventh Circuit to determine whether the waiver was valid and whether it barred Perez's specific arguments.
The court reviewed the validity and scope of the appeal waiver provision de novo. Under Eleventh Circuit precedent, a defendant may waive their right to appeal if the waiver is knowing and voluntary. To enforce such a waiver, the government must show either that the district court specifically questioned the defendant about the waiver during the plea colloquy or that it is manifestly clear from the record that the defendant understood the waiver's significance. Here, the written plea agreement contained a clearly titled and underlined section titled 'Defendant's Waiver of Right to Appeal the Sentence,' in which Perez expressly waived his right to appeal on any ground, including challenges to the guidelines range. Perez initialed every page of the agreement and certified that he had read it in its entirety and understood its terms. During the plea colloquy, the magistrate judge specifically questioned Perez about the waiver, explaining that he was giving up almost all appellate rights except for specific exceptions: if the sentence exceeded the guideline range, exceeded the statutory maximum, violated the Eighth Amendment, or if the government appealed. Perez confirmed he understood these terms and had no questions. The court found that the record reflected Perez knowingly and voluntarily entered the waiver. Although Perez argued that the sentence was unreasonable due to the weight given to a single sentencing factor, this argument did not fall within any of the limited exceptions of his waiver. Consequently, the waiver barred the appeal.
The appeal is dismissed, leaving the 360-month sentence in place. The decision reinforces the strict enforcement of appeal waivers in plea agreements within the Eleventh Circuit, confirming that defendants cannot appeal sentencing arguments regarding the reasonableness of a sentence if those arguments fall outside the narrow exceptions explicitly preserved in the waiver. No remand instructions were issued as the appeal was dismissed.
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