United States v. Hawkins

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-60514
Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

MICHELLE HAWKINS,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Mississippi
USDC No. 5:18-CR-25-1

Before WIENER, HAYNES, and COSTA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
*

Michelle Hawkins appeals her within-guidelines sentence after pleading
guilty, pursuant to a written plea agreement, to theft of Government funds.
She contends that her sentence was substantively unreasonable. Seeking to
enforce Hawkins’s appeal waiver in her plea agreement, the Government
moves to dismiss the appeal and alternatively moves for summary affirmance.
Hawkins asserts that the appeal waiver should not be enforced on policy

*
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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5
TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
January 13, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Case: 19-60514 Document: 00515268266 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/13/2020

No. 19-60514
2
grounds, disagreeing with our precedent in United States v. Melancon, 972
F.2d 566 (5th Cir. 1992).
We review de novo whether an appeal waiver bars an appeal. United
States v. Keele, 755 F.3d 752, 754 (5th Cir. 2014). Based on our review of the
record, Hawkins knowingly and voluntarily entered her plea agreement,
including the appeal waiver, which is enforceable and bars her appeal. See
United States v. McKinney, 406 F.3d 744, 746 (5th Cir. 2005). We GRANT the
Government’s motion to dismiss, and we DENY its alternative motion for
summary affirmance as unnecessary.
APPEAL DISMISSED.

Case: 19-60514 Document: 00515268266 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/13/2020