Hunter v. United States · ¶122

The Court tries to solve this problem through an indirect chain of reasoning. Plea agreements are approved by district courts, and the process by which they do so, the Court says, involves a measure of discretion. Ante, at 724–725. Thus, the Court continues, the question whether to enforce an appeal waiver in a plea agreement, once under consideration in the court of appeals, is linked to the district court's initial discretionary process to approve the agreement itself. Ante, at 725. So, the Court seems to think, it follows that the Supreme Court has inherent supervisory power to prescribe rules for enforcing appeal waivers in the courts of appeals, fowing from its ability to supervise that initial plea agreement approval process in the district courts.

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