UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-4479
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
MICHAEL RAY ANDERSON,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Louise W. Flanagan, Chief
District Judge. (CR-03-80-FL)
Submitted: December 16, 2005 Decided: February 6, 2006
Before WILLIAMS, TRAXLER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed in part; dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam
opinion.
Kelly L. Greene, STUBBS & PERDUE, P.A., New Bern, North Carolina,
for Appellant. Frank D. Whitney, United States Attorney, Anne M.
Hayes, Jennifer May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorneys,
Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Michael Ray Anderson pled guilty to being a felon in
possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)
(2000). The district court sentenced him as an armed career
criminal, see 18 U.S.C.A. § 924(e) (West 2000 & Supp. 2005), to a
184-month term of imprisonment. Anderson appeals his conviction
and sentence, asserting that the district court should have allowed
him to withdraw his guilty plea and that the court erred in
classifying him as an armed career criminal. The Government
asserts that Anderson validly waived the right to appeal his
sentence in the plea agreement. We agree with the Government and
dismiss that portion of the appeal. We affirm Anderson’s
conviction.
Anderson asserts that the district court erred by denying
his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. We have thoroughly
reviewed the record and conclude that the district court properly
applied the six-factor test in United States v. Moore, 931 F.2d
245, 248 (4th Cir. 1991). We therefore find that the court did not
abuse its discretion in denying Anderson’s motion to withdraw his
guilty plea. United States v. Ubakanma, 215 F.3d 421, 424 (4th
Cir. 2000) (stating standard of review).
Next, Anderson contends that the district court erred in
sentencing him as an armed career criminal, and the Government
asserts that he waived the right to challenge his sentence in the
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plea agreement. A defendant may waive the right to appeal if that
waiver is knowing and intelligent. United States v. Blick, 408
F.3d 162, 169 (4th Cir. 2005). Generally, if the district court
fully questions a defendant regarding the waiver of his right to
appeal during the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 colloquy, the waiver is both
valid and enforceable. United States v. Wessells, 936 F.2d 165,
167-68 (4th Cir. 1991); United States v. Wiggins, 905 F.2d 51, 53-
54 (4th Cir. 1990). A waiver of appeal does not prohibit the
appeal of a sentence imposed in excess of the statutory maximum, a
sentence based on a constitutionally impermissible factor such as
race, United States v. Marin, 961 F.2d 493, 496 (4th Cir. 1992), or
proceedings conducted in violation of the Sixth Amendment right to
counsel following the entry of the guilty plea. United States v.
Attar, 38 F.3d 727, 732-33 (4th Cir. 1994).
Our review of the record leads us to conclude that
Anderson knowingly and voluntarily waived the right to appeal his
sentence. See Blick, 408 F.3d at 169-73 (holding that plea
agreement waiver of right to appeal that district court accepted
prior to United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), was not
invalidated by change in law effected by that decision). Moreover,
the challenges raised on appeal to the armed career criminal
designation fall within the scope of the waiver. See id. at
169-70. We therefore dismiss this portion of the appeal.
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Accordingly, we affirm Anderson’s conviction and dismiss
the appeal of his sentence. We dispense with oral argument because
the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
AFFIRMED IN PART; DISMISSED IN PART
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