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985 F.2d 1012

Docket Nos. 91-50828, 92-55482.

United States v. Abarca

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Submitted Dec. 9, 1992 *

Decided Feb. 5, 1993.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1993-02-05

2 counsel of record

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“[W]e do not hold that Abarca's waiver categorically forecloses him from bringing any section 2255 proceeding, such as a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel or involuntariness of waiver ...”

quoted by 5 later decisions, including United States v. Bushert, Gary Lee Middleton v. United States

“knowing and voluntary waiver of a statutory right is enforceable”

quoted by 4 later decisions, including United States of America v. Padilla, Watson v. United States

Applies 18 U.S.C. § 3742 · 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996)

Relies on Abney v. United States · Girling Health Systems, Inc. v. United States · United States v. Marin

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by William Cameron Canby Jr. · Decided 1993-02-05

How this case has been cited

Cited by 116 later decisions — most recently August 2022 · most notably United States v. Bushert (1993), United States of America v. Tommy Don Cockerham (2001)

63 federal appellate · 2 district · 2 state decisions

6601993200020102020decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1*1013John Lanahan, Asst. Federal Public Defender, San Diego, CA, for defendant-appellant.

¶2Cynthia Bashant, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Diego, CA, for plaintiff-appellee.

¶3Before: CANBY, BOOCHEVER and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges.

¶5CANBY, Circuit Judge:

¶6Rodolfo Abarca-Espinoza1 brings a consolidated appeal challenging (1) the seven-year sentence the district court imposed upon his plea of guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and (2) the district court’s denial of his motion, under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, for modification of his sentence.

¶7We affirm.

¶8DISCUSSION

¶9Abarca contends that the district court erred in refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing in which Abarca would present newly discovered partially exculpatory evidence entitling him to modification of his sentence. In his plea agreement, Abarca waived the right to appeal “any pretrial issues or any sentencing issues” on condition that he receive a sentence that did not exceed the applicable guideline range. The district court sentenced Abarca to eighty-four months, departing downward from the applicable guideline range of 121 to 151 months. In both his direct appeal, under 18 U.S.C. § 3742,2 and his collateral action, under 28 U.S.C. § 2255,3 the gravamen of Abarca’s complaint is that he is entitled to resentencing because newly discovered exculpatory evidence of the extent of his involvement in the crimes undermines the factual basis of the trial court’s sentencing decision. This claim constitutes a “sentencing issue,” and Abarca’s waiver forecloses him from raising it on appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3742. United States v. Navarro-Botello, 912 F.2d 318, 321-22 (9th Cir.1990), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 1488, 117 L.Ed.2d 629 (1992).

¶10*1014In addition, Abarca may not assert the issue in a petition for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Like the right to bring a direct appeal of his sentence, the right Abarca seeks to exercise in bringing a collateral attack is statutory. See Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 656, 97 S.Ct. 2034, 2038, 52 L.Ed.2d 651 (1977) (“The right of appeal, as we presently know it in criminal cases, is purely a creature of statute_”). A knowing and voluntary waiver of a statutory right is enforceable. Navarro-Botello, 912 F.2d at 321. While we do not hold that Abarca’s waiver categorically forecloses him from bringing any section 2255 proceeding, such as a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel or involuntariness of waiver, United States v. Marin, 961 F.2d 493, 496 (4th Cir.1992); United States v. Rutan, 956 F.2d 827, 829-30 (8th Cir.1992); Navarro-Botello, 912 F.2d at 321, the question of the degree of his culpability is an issue ele' ly contemplated by, and subject to, his p a agreement waiver.

¶11We hold that Abarca has relinquished his right to seek relief, direct or collateral, from his sentence on the ground that he has discovered new exculpatory evidence that undermines the factual basis of the trial court’s sentencing decision.

¶12AFFIRMED.

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