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First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement 
Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, 
Not Specific Performance by District Court
Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025
Filed under: Failure to Recommend the Sentence Promised, Plain Error, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Acceptance/Rejection by the Court
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 …
Illinois Supreme Court Announces Entering ‘Blind’ Guilty Plea Does Not Waive Defendant’s Right to Challenge Sentence
Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025
Filed under: Guilty Plea, Violation of Plea Agreement, Contract Law Principles, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Validity of
Illinois Supreme Court Announces Entering ‘Blind’ Guilty Plea Does Not Waive Defendant’s Right to Challenge Sentence by Anthony Accurso The Supreme Court of Illinois ruled that a defendant retains the right to challenge his sentence when he enters a “blind” guilty plea, i.e., a plea that does not specify the …
Sixth Circuit Announces Invoking Fifth Amendment While Testifying at Trial Does Not Contradict Prior Proffer Statement Nor Does Questioning the Sufficiency of the Prosecution’s Evidence
Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025
Filed under: Fifth Amendment, Sufficiency of Evidence, Prior Inconsistent Statements, Proffer Agreements/Statements/Sessions
Sixth Circuit Announces Invoking Fifth Amendment While Testifying at Trial Does Not Contradict Prior Proffer Statement Nor Does Questioning the Sufficiency of the Prosecution’s Evidence by David Kim The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that invoking the Fifth Amendment while testifying at trial does not …
A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth
Article • April 15, 2025 • from CLN May, 2025
Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Computer Searches, Forensic Sciences, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson In forensic technology, the term “black box” has gained prominence. It describes a system whose inner workings remain opaque—an output emerges, but how it is produced eludes the user. Such black-box algorithms underpin …
Shakedown in New Mexico: Decades-Long Police Corruption Scandal Rocks Albuquerque’s DWI Unit
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Filed under: Police Misconduct, Bribery, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
Shakedown in New Mexico: Decades-Long Police Corruption Scandal Rocks Albuquerque’s DWI Unit by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Albuquerque is grappling with a sprawling police corruption scandal that spans decades, involving bribery, extortion, and racketeering within the city’s DWI enforcement unit. The scandal, which came to light after …
Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who ...
Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025
Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Exculpatory No Doctrine, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court …
‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers
Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025
Filed under: Databases, Disclosure of Records, Public Records Act, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Are federal courts participating in a legal fiction during sentencing proceedings to maintain a peculiar but potentially necessary mechanism to resolve criminal cases without a jury? That …
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Trial Court Must Conduct Inquiry Whether Defendant Knowingly and Voluntarily Waived Right to Counsel at ‘Any Stage of a Case,’ Including Arraignment or ...
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Filed under: Counsel - Right to, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Trial Court Must Conduct Inquiry Whether Defendant Knowingly and Voluntarily Waived Right to Counsel at ‘Any Stage of a Case,’ Including Arraignment or Plea Hearing by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that a defendant did not knowingly and …
Kansas Supreme Court Announces Defendant-Witness Retains Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination After Guilty Plea and Sentencing as Long as Testimony Sought Presents Legitimate...
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: Self Incrimination, Self-Incrimination Clause, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
Kansas Supreme Court Announces Defendant-Witness Retains Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination After Guilty Plea and Sentencing as Long as Testimony Sought Presents Legitimate Risk of Incrimination by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Kansas held that a defendant’s privilege against compelled self-incrimination concerning his alleged criminal …
First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in S...
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Grounds for Variance, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Grounds
First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in Sentencing Memo by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the Government implicitly …
Illinois Supreme Court Announces Dismissal by Nolle Prosequi as Part of Agreement Bars State From Bringing Second Prosecution Where Defendant Satisfied Obligations and Reverses Empire Actor Jussie Smo...
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: Double jeopardy, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements, Dismissal, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
Illinois Supreme Court Announces Dismissal by Nolle Prosequi as Part of Agreement Bars State From Bringing Second Prosecution Where Defendant Satisfied Obligations and Reverses Empire Actor Jussie Smollett’s Conviction by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Illinois reversed and dismissed Empire actor Jussie Smollett’s felony disorderly conduct …
Third Circuit Announces Claim of Innocence Does Not Resolve Whether Defendant Would Have Accepted Plea Offer Absent Counsel’s Error and Holds Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Properly Advise Defend...
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Rejection
Third Circuit Announces Claim of Innocence Does Not Resolve Whether Defendant Would Have Accepted Plea Offer Absent Counsel’s Error and Holds Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Properly Advise Defendant About Mandatory Sentences If Plea Offer Rejected by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third …
Third Circuit: Despite ‘Expressly and Repeatedly’ Requesting Low-End Sentence, Government Breached Plea Agreement by Emphasizing ‘Heinous’ Nature of Offense and Presenting Victim-Impact Evidence at Se...
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Reduction of Sentence, Proffer Agreements/Statements/Sessions
Third Circuit: Despite ‘Expressly and Repeatedly’ Requesting Low-End Sentence, Government Breached Plea Agreement by Emphasizing ‘Heinous’ Nature of Offense and Presenting Victim-Impact Evidence at Sentencing Thereby Undermining Recommendation by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the Government breached its promise …
Mississippi Supreme Court: Defendant’s Guilty Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Because He Was Not Informed of His Habitual Offender Status
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: Resentencing, De Facto Career Offender, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
Mississippi Supreme Court: Defendant’s Guilty Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Because He Was Not Informed of His Habitual Offender Status by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Mississippi held that a defendant’s guilty plea to two forged prescription drug charges was not knowing and voluntary because he …
Virginia Supreme Court Announces Parties Are Free to Renegotiate Plea Agreement Not Already Accepted by Trial Court, Which May Not Enforce Original Plea Against Parties’ Wishes
Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024
Filed under: Awareness of Consequences, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Rejection, Validity of
Virginia Supreme Court Announces Parties Are Free to Renegotiate Plea Agreement Not Already Accepted by Trial Court, Which May Not Enforce Original Plea Against Parties’ Wishes by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Virginia held that a trial court erred by enforcing a plea agreement after the …
Ninth Circuit Clarifies ‘Implicit Breach’ Case Law Regarding When Government Breaches Plea Agreement by Responding to Defendant’s Request for Downward Variant Sentence
Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024
Filed under: Sentencing Goals/Purposes/Practices, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements, Breach of trust, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
Ninth Circuit Clarifies ‘Implicit Breach’ Case Law Regarding When Government Breaches Plea Agreement by Responding to Defendant’s Request for Downward Variant Sentence by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, clarified when the Government breaches its promise in a plea …
First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement With Defendant by Failing to Explain Why It Agreed to Substantial Downward-Variant Sentence
Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentencing Goals/Purposes/Practices, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas
First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement With Defendant by Failing to Explain Why It Agreed to Substantial Downward-Variant Sentence by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the Government violated the terms of its plea agreement with a defendant where …
Tenth Circuit: Counsel Advising Black Defendant No Minorities Would Be on Jury Is Material Misrepresentation About Right to Impartial Jury Rendering Guilty Plea Unknowing and Involuntary
Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024
Filed under: Juries - Fair and Impartial, Racial Bias Exception, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
Tenth Circuit: Counsel Advising Black Defendant No Minorities Would Be on Jury Is Material Misrepresentation About Right to Impartial Jury Rendering Guilty Plea Unknowing and Involuntary by David Reutter by David M. Reutter T he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held a defendant’s guilty plea was unknowing …
First Circuit: Defendant Did Not Understand Consequences of Guilty Plea Because District Court and Counsel Led Him to Reasonably Believed Plea Agreement Would Result in Sentence Below Applicable Manda...
Article • June 15, 2024 • from CLN June, 2024
Filed under: Consequences of Plea, Awareness of Consequences, Credits, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
First Circuit: Defendant Did Not Understand Consequences of Guilty Plea Because District Court and Counsel Led Him to Reasonably Believed Plea Agreement Would Result in Sentence Below Applicable Mandatory Minimum by David Reutter by David M. Reutter   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a defendant’s …
Tenth Circuit: Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Where Plea Counsel Materially Misrepresented Defendant’s Right to Impartial Jury Selected Through Racially Nondiscriminatory Means
Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024
Filed under: Juries - Fair and Impartial, Impartial Jury, Fair Cross Section Requirement, Consequences of Plea, Misleading Advice/Statements to Defendant, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
Tenth Circuit: Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Where Plea Counsel Materially Misrepresented Defendant’s Right to Impartial Jury Selected Through Racially Nondiscriminatory Means by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that John Miguel Swan’s guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary because …
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