United States v. Jason Jian Liang

MEMORANDUM

Jason Jian Liang appeals his conviction and sentence following his unconditional guilty plea for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (‘TEE-PA”), 50 U.S.C. § 1705 , and the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), 15 C.F.R. §§ 736.2 , 764.2. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm the district court.

Liang’s unconditional guilty plea waived his right to seek review of any alleged defects in his indictment or in the constitutionality of the underlying statutes. See United States v. Lopez-Armenta, 400 F.3d 1173, 1175 (9th Cir.2005) (“[I]t is well-settled that an unconditional guilty plea constitutes a waiver of the right to appeal all nonjurisdictional antecedent rulings and cures all antecedent constitutional defects.”).

Even absent waiver, Liang’s arguments lack merit. The indictment was not defective because the foreign availability of an item on the Commodity Control List is not an element of an IEEPA violation. See United States v. Mandel, 914 F.2d 1215, 1223 (9th Cir.1990). The indictment alleged that Liang knew that a license was required for export of the thermal imaging cameras, that he lacked the license, and that…