United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 16-4473
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Michael P. Ayala
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield
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Submitted: November 13, 2017
Filed: November 16, 2017
[Unpublished]
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Before WOLLMAN, LOKEN, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
In this direct criminal appeal, Michael Ayala challenges the sentence the
district court1 imposed after he pleaded guilty--pursuant to a written plea agreement
1
The Honorable M. Douglas Harpool, United States District Judge for the
Western District of Missouri.
that included an appeal waiver--to drug, firearm, and money laundering charges. His
counsel has moved to withdraw and submitted a brief under Anders v. California, 386
U.S. 738 (1967), arguing that the sentence was greater than necessary.
We conclude that the appeal waiver is enforceable, because our review of the
record demonstrates that Ayala entered into the plea agreement and the appeal waiver
knowingly and voluntarily, see Nguyen v. United States, 114 F.3d 699, 703 (8th Cir.
1997); the argument falls within the scope of the waiver; and no miscarriage of justice
would result from enforcing the waiver, see United States v. Scott, 627 F.3d 702, 704
(8th Cir. 2010) (de novo review); United States v. Andis, 333 F.3d 886, 890-92 (8th
Cir. 2003) (en banc). Furthermore, we have independently reviewed the record under
Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), and have found no non-frivolous issues for
appeal outside the scope of the waiver.
Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion, and we dismiss this appeal.
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