United States v. Morales-Galdamez

293 F. App'x 481
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided September 16, 2008·No. No. 07-10112·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Edwin Saul Morales-Galdamez appeals from the 33-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for illegal reentry after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). We dismiss the appeal.

Morales-Galdamez contends that the appeal wavier in his plea agreement is unenforceable. First, he contends that he did not enter into his plea agreement knowingly and voluntarily because he was confused and because the magistrate judge pressured him into pleading. We conclude that Morales-Galdamez entered into his plea agreement knowingly and voluntarily. See United States v. Nguyen, 235 F.3d 1179, 1182-83 (9th Cir.2000). MoralesGaldamez further contends that his plea agreement is invalid because the magistrate judge participated in the plea bargaining process. We conclude that the judge did not engage in the plea bargaining process. Cf. United States v. Bruce, 976 F.2d 552, 555 (9th Cir.1992). Finally, he contends that his guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary due to ineffective assistance of counsel. Because the record is insufficiently developed, we decline to consider this claim on direct appeal. See United States v. Jeronimo, 398 F.3d 1149, 1155-56 (9th Cir.2005).

Accordingly, we dismiss in light of the valid appeal waiver. See Nguyen, 235 F.3d at 1182-83.

DISMISSED.

Footnotes

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

United States v. Morales-Galdamez, 293 F. App'x 481 (9th Cir. 2008).

293 F. App'x 481 (United States v. Morales-Galdamez) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Kenneth R. Bruce
976 F.2d 552 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Pascual Dionicio Jeronimo
398 F.3d 1149 (Ninth Circuit, 2005)