United States v. Eric Rivers ( 2014 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 13-4314
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
ERIC MIGUEL RIVERS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. James C. Dever III,
Chief District Judge. (7:09-cr-00027-D-1)
Submitted: January 31, 2014 Decided: February 27, 2014
Before KEENAN, DIAZ, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Eric J. Brignac,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellant. Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States
Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Eric Miguel Rivers seeks to appeal the district
court’s order granting in part the Government’s Fed. R. Crim. P.
35(b) motion for reduction of sentence. Rivers argues that the
district court failed to exercise its discretion in a meaningful
way when it refused to reduce Rivers’ sentence to the extent
requested by the United States, despite Rivers’ purported
exceptional assistance to the Government. The Government has
moved to dismiss the appeal as barred by Rivers’ waiver of the
right to appeal included in his plea agreement.
Our review of the record leads us to conclude that
Rivers knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal his
sentence. See United States v. Blick, 408 F.3d 162, 168-69 (4th
Cir. 2005). The issue raised by Rivers falls within the scope
of that waiver. See United States v. Thornsbury, 670 F.3d 532,
537 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 133 S. Ct. 196 (2012).
Accordingly, because Rivers knowingly and voluntarily entered
into the waiver and the Government now seeks to enforce it, we
grant the motion to dismiss. We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented
in the materials before this court and argument would not aid
the decisional process.
DISMISSED
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