UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ollie JOHNSON, Defendant-Appellant

OVERVIEW

Ollie Johnson appeals a 10-year sentence imposed after he pled guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute. In the plea agreement he waived his right to appeal. He now argues that the waiver does not encompass appeal of issues arising out of a law enacted in the period between his plea and sentencing. We are not persuaded. Accordingly, we dismiss Johnson’s appeal as waived.

BACKGROUND

On October 6, 1993, Johnson was indicted on two counts: (1) possession of heroin with intent to distribute ( 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1)), and (2) importation of heroin ( 21 U.S.C. § 952 (a)). On June 24, 1994, Johnson executed and filed a written plea agreement and pled guilty to count one. The plea agreement, acknowledging that count one carried a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ incarceration, stated that Johnson waived “the right to appeal any sentence imposed by the district judge.” The waiver was not conditioned on the imposition of any particular sentence or range.

Johnson’s offense level was 31. His three criminal history points placed him in Criminal History Category II, which indicated a Sentencing Guidelines range of 121 to 151 months. The district court found…