United States v. Thomas Schopp ( 2021 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS DEC 21 2021
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 20-30232
Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 1:15-cr-00001-TMB-1
v.
MEMORANDUM*
THOMAS SCHOPP, AKA Thomas Hiser,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Alaska
Timothy M. Burgess, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 14, 2021**
Before: WALLACE, CLIFTON, and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges.
Thomas Schopp appeals from the district court’s amended judgment and
challenges the 45-year sentence imposed upon remand for resentencing following
his guilty-plea conviction for production of child pornography, in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 2251(a). We dismiss.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Schopp contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. As the
government argues, this claim is encompassed by the appeal waiver in the parties’
plea agreement. Schopp’s argument that his waiver was involuntary, rendering it
unenforceable, is unavailing. Schopp maintains that his plea was involuntary
because he initially attempted to plead guilty without a plea agreement, this court
concluded in his prior appeal that the original life sentence was in excess of the 50-
year statutory maximum, and he allegedly did not receive any benefit under the
plea agreement. However, the circumstances surrounding the signing and entry of
the plea agreement, and the court’s advice regarding the waiver at the change of
plea hearing, demonstrate that Schopp understood he was waiving his right to
appeal. See United States v. Lo, 839 F.3d 777, 783-84 (9th Cir. 2016). Moreover,
as the district court explained to him, the “basic bargain” was that he would plead
guilty pursuant to the plea agreement in exchange for the government’s agreement
not to prosecute him for any additional offenses arising from the event charged in
the indictment. Because the record reflects that Schopp’s waiver of the right to
appeal was knowing and voluntary, we enforce the waiver and dismiss Schopp’s
appeal. See id. at 780-81, 795.
DISMISSED.
2 20-30232