Whether a pro se alien's waiver of the right to appeal is 'considered and intelligent' under Mendoza-Lopez in the absence of an opportunity to dispute whether his prior conviction is an aggravated felony

QUESTION PRESENTED In Mendoza-Lopez, 481 U.S. 828, 840 (1987), this Court held that the Fifth Amendment prevents the government from using a deportation order to satisfy an element of a crime if the alien defendant’s right to judicial review had been “effectively eliminated” by defects in the proceeding. It held that any waiver of appeal of the deportation order must be “considered and intelligent.” Over the intervening thirty three years, the lower courts have reached an impass regarding what advice is required to make a pro se alien’s waiver of appeal “considered and intelligent.” The Second and Ninth Circuits (together accounting for about a quarter of all illegal reentry prosecutions) require that the alien be made aware of the right to dispute any dispositive issue. The First, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits do not require that any advice be provided. This case asks whether a pro se alien’s waiver of the right to appeal is “considered and intelligent” under Mendoza-Lopez in the absence of an opportunity to dispute whether his prior conviction is an aggravated felony.