United States v. Jacquez Jarrone Conley

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Decided: January 16, 2025
• Docket: 24-10018
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 24-10017 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 01/16/2025 Page: 1 of 6

[DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 24-10017 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JACQUEZ JARRONE CONLEY,

Defendant- Appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama D.C. Docket No. 2:21-cr-00343-MHH-JHE-1 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 24-10017 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 01/16/2025 Page: 2 of 6

2 Opinion of the Court 24-10017

No. 24-10018 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JACQUEZ JARRONE CONLEY,

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama D.C. Docket No. 2:21-cr-00343-MHH-JHE-1 ____________________

Before JORDAN, NEWSOM, AND GRANT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Jacquez Jarrone Conley appeals his sentence of 235 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for one count of posses- USCA11 Case: 24-10017 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 01/16/2025 Page: 3 of 6

24-10017 Opinion of the Court 3

sion of child pornography involving a minor who is not yet 12 years old. For the reasons stated below, we dismiss the appeal. Mr. Conley entered into a plea agreement with the gov- ernment in which he agreed to waive his right to appeal his sen- tence in most circumstances. Mr. Conley reserved the right to appeal (1) any sentence in excess of the applicable statutory max- imum sentence; (2) any sentence in excess of the Sentencing Guidelines range; and (3) a claim of ineffective assistance of coun- sel. In calculating Mr. Conley’s sentence, the probation office applied a number of enhancements pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(b). Prior to and during his sentencing hearing, Mr. Conley objected to the enhancements. The district court found that there was sufficient evidence to maintain a five-level enhancement pur- suant to § 2G2.2(b)(5), established the Sentencing Guidelines range of 235-240 months, and imposed a 235-month sentence. At the sentencing hearing, the district court orally pro- nounced that Mr. Conley would “have to comply with the stand- ard conditions of supervised release of record in [the] court” as well as a number “special conditions” that it enumerated. But the court did not orally enumerate Condition 14, which Mr. Conley now challenges. Instead, it stated: “[T]here are several specific conditions that our court imposes for sex offenses. The Court will impose those conditions, and they will all be in the judgment and will be available for your review with your probation officer when you're released from prison.” USCA11 Case: 24-10017 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 01/16/2025 Page: 4 of 6

4 Opinion of the Court 24-10017

On appeal, Mr. Conley argues (1) that his sentence focused on his treatment needs in violation of Tapia v. United States, 564 U.S. 319 (2011); (2) that the government failed to meet its burden of proving a “pattern of activity” under § 2G2.2(b)(5), and there- fore the district court erred in rejecting his objection to the five- level enhancement; and (3) that the district court failed to pro- nounce one of the discretionary conditions for his supervised re- lease—Condition 14—in violation of his due process rights. A defendant who has waived his right to appeal his sen- tence is generally barred from appealing contested issues underly- ing his sentence, “such as the court’s calculation of the Guideline range or any rulings at sentencing.” United States v. Boyd, 975 F.3d 1185, 1191 (11th Cir. 2020). Challenges related to supervised re- lease conditions are also generally barred by a valid appeal waiver. See United States v. Cordero, 7 F.4th 1058, 1067 n.10 (11th Cir. 2021). We recently held, for example, that a claim that the district court violated due process by not orally announcing or describing a condition of supervised release is covered by an appeal waiver. See United States v. Read, 118 F.4th 1317, 1321–22 (11th Cir. 2024). If valid, “[a]n appeal waiver includes the waiver of the right to appeal difficult or debatable legal issues or even blatant error.” United States v. Grinard-Henry, 399 F.3d 1294, 1296 (11th Cir. 2005). And a defendant is “free to bargain away his right to raise consti- tutional issues[.]” United States v. Bascomb, 451 F.3d 1292, 1297 (11th Cir. 2006). USCA11 Case: 24-10017 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 01/16/2025 Page: 5 of 6

24-10017 Opinion of the Court 5

As a threshold matter we must determine whether Mr. Conley’s appeal waiver was valid. We review the validity of a sentence appeal waiver de novo. See King v. United States, 41 F.4th 1363, 1366 (11th Cir. 2022), cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 1771 (2023). A waiver will be enforced if it was made knowingly and voluntarily. See United States v. Bushert, 997 F.2d 1343, 1350–51 (11th Cir. 1993). To establish that the waiver was made knowingly and voluntarily, the government must show either that: (1) the district court specifically questioned the de- fendant about the waiver during the plea colloquy; or (2) the rec- ord makes clear that the defendant otherwise understood the full significance of the waiver. See id. The “touchstone” for this de- termination “is whether it was clearly conveyed to the defendant that he was giving up his right to appeal under most circumstanc- es.” Boyd, 975 F.3d at 1192 (internal quotation marks, alterations, and emphasis omitted) (quoting Bushert, 997 F.2d at 1352–53). The record demonstrates that Mr. Conley’s sentence ap- peal waiver was knowing and voluntary. During the change of plea hearing, the district court reviewed the advice of rights certi- fication with Mr. Conley, then verified that he had initialed each page of the plea agreement and had signed the agreement. The court stated that it would rely on the facts of the agreement when determining his sentence, and Mr. Conley affirmed that he under- stood this. The court then reviewed the appeal waiver provisions of the agreement with Mr. Conley and explained that the waiver of appeal would bar him from challenging “most everything hav- USCA11 Case: 24-10017 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 01/16/2025 Page: 6 of 6

6 Opinion of the Court 24-10017

ing to do with sentencing.” The court also noted the three excep- tions to the appeal waiver. Mr. Conley acknowledged that he un- derstood and that he was voluntarily giving up his right to appeal his sentence as set forth in the plea agreement. The court then verified that he understood the discussion and that he wanted to change his plea to guilty. The court found that Mr. Conley was acting voluntarily and adjudged him guilty. We conclude that Mr. Conley’s appeal waiver was know- ing and voluntary because the district court expressly questioned him about the appeal waiver and the record supports a finding that he understood the appeal waiver. See Bushert, 997 F.2d at 1351. Mr. Conley’s three challenges—to the sentencing proce- dure, the sentencing enhancements, and the supervised release condition—are encompassed by the terms of his appeal waiver. Those challenges do not fall within any of the listed exceptions, as the sentence imposed did not exceed the applicable statutory maximum or the Sentencing Guidelines range; nor does Mr. Con- ley claim ineffective assistance of counsel. We therefore dismiss the appeal. APPEAL DISMISSED.