Extended Fifth Circuit discussion of appeal waivers

Following the lead of the Second Circuit’s recent work on related issues, the Fifth Circuit in US v. Burns, No. 04-11357 (5th Cir. Dec. 13, 2005) (available here), has issued a thoughtful opinion which discusses appeal waivers at length.  Here is the closing paragraph in Burns:

We join the other circuits in holding that an otherwise valid appeal waiver is not rendered invalid, or inapplicable to an appeal seeking to raise a Booker or Fanfan issue (whether or not that issue would have substantive merit), merely because the waiver was made before Booker.  Apart from being made pre-Booker, Burns’s waiver is clearly otherwise valid, voluntary, knowing and intelligent, and applicable to the Fanfan issue which constitutes his sole ground of appeal.