United States v. Bolin

Bolin was charged with possession of sexually explicit material involving minors, 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(4)(B), 2252(b)(2). The court approved Bolin's financial affidavit and appointed him counsel. Bolin pleaded guilty. His plea agreement included a “Waiver of Right to Appeal,” with a paragraph stating: The defendant understands that the defendant has a statutory right to appeal the conviction and sentence imposed and the manner in which the sentence was determined. Acknowledging this right, and in exchange for the concessions made by the Government in this Plea Agreement, the defendant expressly waives the defendant’s right to appeal the conviction imposed in this case on any ground, including the right to appeal conferred by 18 U.S.C. 3742.… This blanket waiver of appeal specifically includes all provisions of the guilty plea and sentence imposed, including the length and conditions [of] supervised release and the amount of any fine. The court determined that Bolin was competent and capable of entering into an informed plea. The PSR explained that Bolin faced fines but recommended that the court not impose any fine but impose $100 for the mandatory special assessment and $5,000 for the additional special assessment. It did not elaborate as to its reasoning. The court sentenced Bolin to 120 months of imprisonment plus 15 years of supervised release with the mandatory and additional special assessments (18 U.S.C. 3013, 3014). Bolin argued that he is indigent. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding Bolin has waived this claim. View "United States v. Bolin" on Justia Law