United States v. Melancon

972 F.2d 566 (1992)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Melancon

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
972 F.2d 566 (1992)

  • Written by Arlyn Katen, JD

Facts

Brian Melancon (defendant) pleaded guilty in federal district court to conspiracy to distribute methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or ecstasy). The district court held a hearing pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 to colloquy Melancon regarding his understanding of the effects of his guilty plea. During the hearing, Melancon stated that he understood that by pleading guilty, he was intelligently and voluntarily waiving his right to appeal his sentence. Melancon’s plea agreement did not involve a specific promised sentence; instead, Melancon was assured only that the court would sentence him according to the federal sentencing guidelines, but the court also informed Melancon that the court could depart from the guidelines’ recommendation and that the maximum possibly penalty Melancon faced was 20 years of incarceration. After ensuring that Melancon understood these and other effects of his plea, the court imposed a sentence of nine years of incarceration. Melancon appealed, seeking review of his sentence. The government (plaintiff) argued that Melancon’s appeal had to be dismissed because Melancon had waived his right to appeal as part of his guilty plea.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Duhe, J.)

Concurrence (Parker, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 810,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Criminal Procedure

Key Terms