United States v. Nichols ( 2003 )

United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS May 28, 2003
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 02-51094
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
RODNEY JOE NICHOLS, JR.,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. SA-01-CR-471-1
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Before DAVIS, WIENER and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Rodney Joe Nichols, Jr., pleaded guilty to one charge of
possession of psuedoephedrine with intent to manufacture
methamphetamine, and aiding and abetting same, and one charge of
possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug
trafficking crime. The district court sentenced him to a total
of 123 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
No. 02-51094
-2-
Nichols argues for the first time on appeal that the
Government failed to carry its evidentiary burden of proving that
he possessed a weapon in connection with his drug offense.
Nichols thus contends that the district court should not have
sentenced him on the firearms charge because there was
insufficient evidence to support this charge.
This argument is unavailing. A voluntary guilty plea waives
all non-jurisdictional defects in a case and thus precludes
consideration of a claim as to the insufficiency of the evidence.
United States v. Hanyard, 762 F.2d 1226, 1229-30 (5th Cir. 1985).
Nichols does not argue that his guilty plea was involuntary. See
blue brief, passim. Accordingly, his claim that the evidence was
insufficient to support his firearms conviction has been waived,
and we will not consider it. The judgment of the district court
is AFFIRMED.