United States v. Morales Heredia

Defendant pleaded guilty to the sole count of illegal reentry under a written fast-track plea agreement pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(C). On appeal, defendant challenged his twenty-one month prison term. The court concluded that the government breached the plea agreement by implicitly advocating for a sentence other than the stipulated one. The government also breached the express terms of the plea agreement not to seek, argue, or suggest in any way that the district court impose a sentence other than what had been stipulated by the parties. Even if the court concluded that the government's offending language had no practical purpose but to argue implicitly for a harsher than stipulated punishment, the court held that the government breached the express terms of the plea agreement. Further, the government's breach of the plea agreement was neither cured nor curable before the district court. When a defendant timely objects, moves for specific performance, and successfully appeals the district court's post-breach order rejecting a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreement, the appropriate remedy is to vacate the conviction and sentence and remand for further proceedings before a different judge. In this case, defendant appealed only his sentence and did not seek vacatur of his conviction. Accordingly, the court vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Morales Heredia" on Justia Law