United States v. Desean Williams

── United States v. Desean Williams ── Case No.: 25-11059 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 18, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-11059 Document: 31-1 Date Filed: 03/18/2026 Page: 1 of 6 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-11059 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus DESEAN WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 5:24-cr-00058-TPB-PRL-1 ____________________ Before LUCK, LAGOA, and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: This appeal concerns a claim whose factual predicate is no- where in the record. Desean Williams, for the first time, argues that USCA11 Case: 25-11059 Document: 31-1 Date Filed: 03/18/2026 Page: 2 of 6 2 Opinion of the Court 25-11059 he and his trial counsel had a clear conflict of interest, so his con- viction must be automatically reversed. Because accepting his ar- gument would require us to take on the impermissible role of fact- finder, we affirm his conviction. I. Williams was indicted on one count of possession with in- tent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, in viola- tion of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A). He originally pleaded not guilty but then later pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement. As part of the agreement, he waived his right to appeal his sentence on any ground except for three enumerated grounds: (1) the sentence exceeded his applicable guidelines range as deter- mined by the Court; (2) the sentence exceeds the statutory maxi- mum penalty; and (3) the sentence violates the Eighth Amend- ment. The agreement also stated that Williams would be released from his appeal waiver if the Government appealed the sentence imposed. At his change of plea hearing, Williams made no mention of a conflict of interest with his trial counsel and confirmed that he understood the appellate waiver of his agreement, as well as the other consequences of pleading guilty. The Magistrate Judge issued a report and recommendation (R&R) to the District Judge to accept Williams’s guilty plea and adjudicate him guilty. Williams did not object to the R&R, and the District Court accepted it. The District Court accepted Williams’s guilty plea and adjudicated Williams USCA11 Case: 25-11059 Document: 31-1 Date Filed: 03/18/2026 Page: 3 of 6 25-11059 Opinion of the Court 3 guilty. The Court later sentenced Williams to 168 months’ impris- onment, followed by 5 years’ supervised release. 1 Williams timely appeals. II. Williams argues for the first time on direct appeal that the appellate waiver in his plea agreement created an obvious conflict of interest between him and his counsel because it included a waiver of the right to appeal his sentence on ineffective assistance of counsel grounds. He maintains that this triggered the Court’s duty to inquire into the conflict, so, because the Court did not in- quire, the conviction must be automatically reversed.