Opinion
Case Number 03 C 50332
December 11, 2003
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Defendant, Jerry K. Partee, filed a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, raising several challenges to his sentence which was imposed following his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 846. The government has moved to dismiss defendant's section 2255 motion based on an express waiver in his written plea agreement of his right to seek relief under section 2255. Defendant was originally given until November 3, 2003, to file a response to the motion to dismiss. Instead, on November 3, 2003, defendant filed a motion for enlargement of time to file his response. This court, on November 5, 2003, granted the motion for enlargement of time and gave defendant until December 4, 2003, to respond. The November 5 order also states that no further extensions will be granted. On December 8, 2003, defendant filed a second motion for enlargement of time to respond. The court has denied the December 8 motion for enlargement of time and will decide the government's pending motion to dismiss.
A waiver in a written plea agreement to seek relief pursuant to section 2255 is valid and enforceable absent a claim that counsel was ineffective in connection with negotiating the waiver itself. Mason v. United States, 211 F.3d 1065, 1069 (7th Cir. 2000). Here, defendant's plea agreement expressly waives any right to seek relief under section 2255. Further, defendant does not claim any ineffectiveness of counsel related to the negotiation of that waiver. In fact, defendant stated during the Rule 11 colloquy that his attorney's representation was "outstanding." He also told the court that he understood that as part of his plea agreement he was giving up his right to pursue a section 2255 remedy. There is no doubt that defendant waived any claim to relief under section 2255 in this case. Thus, the court grants the government's motion to dismiss defendant's section 2255 motion and dismisses this cause in its entirety.