United States v. London
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Date FiledAugust 21, 2026
Docket25-20102
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
Case: 25-20102 Document: 73-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/21/2026
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
____________ Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 25-20102 August 21, 2026
____________
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Davantae London,
Defendant—Appellant.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:20-CR-154-1
______________________________
ON REMAND FROM
THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Before Smith, Haynes, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:
Defendant Davantae London robbed at gunpoint several Wal-Mart
stores in the Houston area. As part of Hunter’s plea agreement with the
United States, the Government agreed to drop nine counts from London’s
superseding indictment, and London agreed to waive his right to appeal his
conviction and sentence. But London tried to appeal anyway. So we granted
the Government’s motion to dismiss. Following the Supreme Court’s
Case: 25-20102 Document: 73-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/21/2026
No. 25-20102
decision in Hunter v. United States, 146 S. Ct. 1702 (2026), however, the
Court granted London’s petition for a writ of certiorari, vacated our
judgment, and remanded. See London v. United States, No. 25-6850, 2026 WL
1854988 (U.S. June 29, 2026).
In Hunter, the Supreme Court announced that a defendant’s appeal
waiver is unenforceable if it “would result in a miscarriage of justice,”
meaning “the kind of egregious error that would bring the judicial system
into disrepute.” 146 S. Ct. at 1708. London contends that enforcement of his
appeal waiver would result in one such miscarriage. He argues that the
district court erred in running his federal sentence consecutive to his state
sentence in violation of the Sentencing Guidelines. See U.S.S.G. § 5G1.3.
London’s argument fails. The Hunter Court provided examples of
what could amount to a miscarriage of justice—including “a sentence
exceeding what the relevant statute allows,” “a sentence that is infected with
a blatant constitutional error,” or a sentence “imposed without some
minimum of civilized procedure.” 146 S. Ct. at 1714 (quotation omitted).
These types of errors jeopardize the “justice system’s basic integrity.” Id.
London, by contrast, brings a run-of-the-mill challenge to the district court’s
application of the Sentencing Guidelines. “Such standard-fare errors in
misapplying sentencing law cannot cancel an appeal waiver”—even
assuming such an error occurred here. Id. at 1713.
We therefore enforce London’s appeal waiver and DISMISS this
appeal. See United States v. Hunter, No. 24-20211, 2026 WL 2185925, at *7
(5th Cir. July 29, 2026) (doing the same thing).
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