United States of America v. James Ferman Chatman

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 23-2145
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United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
James Ferman Chatman
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of Nebraska - Omaha
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Submitted: September 1, 2023
Filed: September 7, 2023
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, BENTON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
James Chatman received a 324-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty
to sex trafficking of a child. See 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)(1), (b). As part of the plea
agreement, he waived his right to appeal. An Anders brief suggests that the waiver

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is invalid and the district court1 imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence. See
Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).
Upon careful review, we conclude that the appeal waiver is enforceable. See
United States v. Scott, 627 F.3d 702, 704 (8th Cir. 2010) (reviewing the validity of
an appeal waiver de novo); United States v. Andis, 333 F.3d 886, 889–92 (8th Cir.
2003) (en banc) (explaining that an appeal waiver will be enforced if the appeal falls
within its scope, the defendant knowingly and voluntarily entered into the plea
agreement and the waiver, and enforcing the waiver would not result in a miscarriage
of justice). We have also independently reviewed the record and conclude that no
other non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988).
We accordingly dismiss the appeal and grant counsel permission to withdraw.
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1 The Honorable Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., Chief Judge, United States District
Court for the District of Nebraska.

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