7th Circuit issues dicta on duty to appeal.

• Date: 06 August 2007
• Author: Ziemer, David

Byline: David Ziemer

Suppose you negotiate a plea agreement for your client in which he waives his right to appeal, but then the client asks you to appeal anyway. What should you do? A July 31 opinion by the Seventh Circuit doesn't answer the question dispositively, but it does suggest that you don't have to appeal. Charged with multiple cocaine offenses, Armando Nunez negotiated a plea bargain: the prosecutor dismissed all counts but one and recommended a sentence at the lowest point in the guideline range. As part of the deal, Nunez agreed not to appeal or file a collateral attack unless the sentence exceeded the statutory maximum or the waiver clause itself should be deemed invalid. The sentence followed the prosecutor's recommendation and was under the statutory maximum...