United States DC Circuit

Defendants' drug and racketeering conspiracy sentences are affirmed where 1) despite the district court's occasional imprecision, it plainly accepted defendants' guilty pleas and left them "no reasonable basis" for thinking otherwise; 2) the district court did not impermissibly intrude on the plea-bargaining process; and 3) the district court was not required to hold an evidentiary hearing on the plea agreement.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/01/2009
• Published 12/01/2009

Judges

• Before:  HENDERSON, Circuit Judge, and EDWARDS and WILLIAMS, Senior Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States DC Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Kristen Grim Hughes, appointed by the court, argued the cause for the appellants.  Edward C. Sussman and Mary E. Davis, appointed by the court, were on brief.


• For Appellees:
  
• Amanda J. Winchester, Assistant United States Attorney, argued the cause for the appellee.  Jeffrey A. Taylor, United States Attorney at the time the brief was filed, and Roy W. McLeese III, Elizabeth Trosman, and John Philip Dominguez, Assistant United States Attorneys, were on brief.