Jaqwon Davonte Lupe v. United States

Petitioner pleaded guilty to committing an assault on a private residence located on an Indian reservation in Indian country, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 113(b)(3) & 1153. Although his plea agreement contained a waiver of his right to appeal his conviction, petitioner appealed to the Ninth Circuit, contending that his guilty plea and, thus, also his plea agreement (including the appellate waiver provision) were not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary because petitioner erroneously was led to believe that he was guilty of violating §§ 113(b)(3) & 1153 merely because his assault occurred anywhere in Indian country as opposed to occurring at a specific location in Indian country within the “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.” Petitioner alternatively contended that the appellate waiver was unenforceable because petitioner was actually innocent of the assault, as it unquestionably did not occur within the “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,” an essential element of §§ 113(b)(3) & 1153. In view of the foregoing, the questions presented are: I. Whether, in view of Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, 597 U.S. 629 (2022), “Indian country” in 18 U.S.C. §§ 1151 & 1153 is no longer coterminous with the “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.” II. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred by ruling that petitioner’s guilty plea was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent when the record clearly reveals that petitioner erroneously was led to believe that he was guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 113(b)(3) & 1153 merely because his assault occurred in Indian country generally as opposed to occurring at a specific location in Indian country within the “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.” III. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred by concluding that petitioner’s actual innocence of the charge under 18 U.S.C. §§ 113(b)(3) & 1153 is not an exception to the general rule requiring enforcement of a waiverof-appeal provision in a plea agreement.