United States Ninth Circuit

In a case in which a defendant entered into a plea agreement with the government in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government by filing false tax returns, the sentence is vacated, where: 1) the U.S. Attorney breached the plea agreement by disclosing admissions made by the defendant while cooperating with the government, and by urging imposition of a sentence above the low end of the Sentencing Guidelines, resulting in plain error that affected the defendant's substantial rights; and 2) the district court committed clear error when it imposed a two-level enhancement under the Guidelines for the defendant's alleged role as a leader or organizer.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/07/2012
• Published 03/07/2012

Judges

• Reinhardt

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Tim Warriner, Samantha S. Spangler