Hunter v. United States · ¶82

I see no basis for excusing Hunter from his appeal waiver. Defendants could not appeal federal criminal sentences at all for more than 100 years after the founding; only then did Congress create the statutory right to do so. “Like many constitutional and statutory rights, the right to appeal can be waived by the defendant, and once that choice is finally made, the defendant is bound by the decision.” Garza v. Idaho, 586 U. S. 232, 257 (2019) (Thomas, J., dissenting). The Court today creates a “miscarriage-of-justice” exception to this rule. But, it cannot identify any source of law for its exception. Neither the contract-law principles that Hunter invoked nor this Court's supposed “supervisory power” give it the authority to override Hunter's appeal waiver.

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