Plunkett v. Sproul, No. 20-2461 (7th Cir. 2021)
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Plunkett sold crack cocaine to a confidential informant and was charged with distributing cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). Convictions for offenses under section 841(b)(1)(C) carry a default statutory maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. After Plunkett pleaded not guilty, the government notified the court under 21 U.S.C. 851 that Plunkett had a 2008 Illinois felony conviction for unlawful delivery of cocaine and asserted that the prior conviction qualified as a predicate “felony drug offense” under 841(b)(1)(C) that subjected Plunkett to an increased statutory maximum prison term of 30 years for his federal drug offense.
Plunkett’s subsequent plea agreement stated that he qualified as a career offender and that his U.S.S.G. advisory range was 188-235 months’ imprisonment. Plunkett waived his rights to appeal or collaterally attack his conviction or sentence, with limited exceptions. Among these, Plunkett preserved his right to seek collateral review based on any subsequent change in the interpretation of the law declared retroactive that renders him actually innocent of the charges. The Seventh Circuit dismissed Plunkett’s appeal of the denial of his section 2241 collateral attack on his 212-month sentence as barred by the appellate waiver. The court rejected Plunkett's argument that
the exception to his appellate waiver refers to the applicable sentence enhancement
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