First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, Not Specific Performance by District Court by David Reutter The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a defendant’s sentence due to the prosecutor’s breach of the parties’ plea agreement, and the Court ordered …

Second Circuit: Money Concealment Guilty Plea Vacated for Lack of Evidence to Support Factual Finding of Required Mens Rea by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a defendant’s conviction because the required mens rea for concealment money launderingwas not supported …

Man Rejects Plea Deal and Is Sentenced to 110 Years in Colorado Prison for Doing So by Ashleigh Dye by Ashleigh Dye A Colorado man who was driving a truck when his brakes failed resulting in an accident that killed four people in 2019 was sentenced on December 13, 2021, …

North Carolina Supreme Court: Judge May Not Reject Informed Guilty Plea Because Defendant Refuses to Admit He’s Factually Guilty by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of North Carolina held a trial court erred in refusing to accept a criminal defendant’s tendered guilty plea because he refused …

South Carolina Supreme Court: State Cannot Appeal Guilty Plea by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of South Carolina dismissed the State’s appeal of a guilty plea and affirmed denial of motions to reconsider the sentence for recusal of the trial court. The Court’s order came in …

Iowa Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Charges that State Brought in Breach of Plea Agreement by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Iowa ordered the dismissal of charges after determining the State breached a plea agreement wherein the State had promised the charges would not be brought. …