Is the Right of Appeal Negotiable In Arizona ?

In Arizona, a defendant cannot waive the constitutional right of appeal in a plea agreement. State v. Ethington, 121 Ariz. 572, 573-74, 592 P.2d 768, 769-70 (1979) (right to appeal is not negotiable in plea bargaining and as a matter of public policy a defendant will be permitted to bring a timely appeal). In contrast, in federal court the statutory right of appeal is negotiable. United States v. McKinney, 406 F.3d 744, 745-46 (5th Cir. 2005). Thus most federal courts have held that if a defendant waived the right to appeal in the plea agreement, the defendant cannot appeal on the grounds that the guilty plea is involuntary based on Blakely. See United States v. Green, 405 F.3d 1180, 1190-91 (10th Cir. 2005) and cases cited therein.