United States v. Wofford

── United States v. Wofford ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 13, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-6098 Document: 35-1 Date Filed: 04/13/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 13, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. No. 25-6098 (D.C. No. 5:24-CR-00515-SLP-1) PHILLIP DEWAYNE WOFFORD, (W.D. Okla.) Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * _________________________________ Before BACHARACH, McHUGH, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Mr. Phillip Dewayne Wofford was convicted and sentenced to ten years after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Mr. Wofford appeals, but his attorney seeks leave to withdraw on the ground that any appellate argument would be frivolous. We agree. * Oral argument would not help us decide the appeal, so we have decided the appeal based on the record and the parties’ briefs. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2)(C); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). This order and judgment does not constitute binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. But the order and judgment may be cited for its persuasive value if otherwise appropriate. See Fed. R. App. P. 32.1(a); 10th Cir. R. 32.1(A).  Appellate Case: 25-6098 Document: 35-1 Date Filed: 04/13/2026 Page: 2 1. Standard for Withdrawal and Dismissal Attorneys may seek leave to withdraw after conscientiously examining an appeal and determining that any grounds would be frivolous. Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967). To obtain leave to withdraw, an attorney must submit a brief to the client and the appellate court indicating any potential appealable issues based on the record. The client may then choose to submit arguments to the court. The [c]ourt must then conduct a full examination of the record to determine whether defendant’s claims are wholly frivolous. If the court concludes after such an examination that the appeal is frivolous, it may grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and may dismiss the appeal. United States v. Calderon, 428 F.3d 928, 930 (10th Cir. 2005) (citations omitted). Defense counsel moved to withdraw, stating that any appellate challenges would be frivolous; and Mr. Wofford declined to file a pro se brief. So we conduct de novo review of the record to determine whether any appellate challenge would be frivolous. United States v. Kurtz, 819 F.3d 1230, 1233 (10th Cir. 2016). 2. Conviction and Sentence Mr. Wofford pleaded guilty, and the record provides no reason to question the validity of the plea. 2  Appellate Case: 25-6098 Document: 35-1 Date Filed: 04/13/2026 Page: 3 For the sentence, an appellate challenge could be procedural or substantive. United States v. Crosby, 119 F.4th 1239, 1248 (10th Cir. 2024). But the record does not support either kind of challenge. A procedural challenge could involve the adequacy of the district court’s explanation or the validity of some of the sentence enhancements. United States v. La