United States v. Bain

The Ninth Circuit reversed defendant's conviction and sentence for armed bank robbery, holding that his inadvertent placement of a pocket knife on the bank's counter while pulling a plastic bag out of his pocket did not put in jeopardy the life of any person by the use of a dangerous weapon. The panel held that the district court committed plain error in accepting defendant's guilty plea without a sufficient factual basis, and the error affected defendant's substantial rights where it was reasonably probable that he would not have pleaded guilty but for the error. View "United States v. Bain" on Justia Law