United States of America v. Miranda Adams

Denver, CO - Criminal defense lawyer represented defendant with 20

counts of bank fraud charges.

Although the plea agreement contained a waiver of her appellate

rights, Ms. Adams filed a notice of appeal. The government has moved to enforce

the appeal waiver in the plea agreement pursuant to United States v. Hahn, 359 F.3d

1315 (10th Cir. 2004) (en banc) (per curiam).

Under Hahn, we consider "(1) whether the disputed appeal falls within the

scope of the waiver of appellate rights; (2) whether the defendant knowingly and

* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines

of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for

its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

FILED

United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit

January 8, 2020

Christopher M. Wolpert

Clerk of Court

Appellate Case: 19-2146 Document: 010110285313 Date Filed: 01/08/2020 Page: 1

2

voluntarily waived his appellate rights; and (3) whether enforcing the waiver would

result in a miscarriage of justice.” Id. at 1325. The government asserts that all of the

Hahn conditions have been satisfied because: (1) Ms. Adams' appeal is within the

scope of the appeal waiver; (2) she knowingly and voluntarily waived her appellate

rights; and (3) enforcing the waiver would not result in a miscarriage of justice. In

her response to the motion to enforce, Ms. Adams concedes, through counsel, "that

her appeal waiver is enforceable under the standard set out in [Hahn].” Resp. at 1.

Based on this concession and our independent review of the record, we grant

the government’s motion to enforce the appeal waiver and dismiss the appeal. This

dismissal does not affect Ms. Adams’ right to pursue post-conviction relief on the

grounds permitted in her plea agreement.