Federal Attorneys Renege on Plea Bargain

In a disturbing opinion, eight Judges of the 8th U.S. Circuit  Court of Appeals ruled this past Monday that a plea bargain the Kansas City US Attorney's Office had made with a defendant could be reneged on.  The defendant had originally been charged in 2003 with conspiring to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine in 2002.  The defendant's attorney negotiated a plea agreement with the US attorney for the defendant to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and the prosecutor would not file any additional charges against the defendant arising from the investigation.  A day before the defendant was to plead guilty per the agreement, another US attorney decided that the plea agreement was too lenient and told the other attorney in that office that made the deal to make it clear at the plea hearing that the government would only limit additional charges from conduct in the time frame mentioned in the indictment (not from the whole investigative time period as  agreed upon).   When the US attorney changed the agreement at the plea hearing, the trial judge ordered the government to complete the plea agreement.  The US attorney appealed.   Originally a three-judge panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government had to go through with the agreement.  Then when heard by the full court, eight judges allowed the government to renege.  Four judges dissented, one being Judge Myron H. Bright, who stated:

"The government reneged on its word."

"That omission . . .  threatens to make the word of that office not worth the paper on which it is written.  Fortunately for the country, I do not believe that federal prosecutors in other districts are in the mold of the Western District of Missouri."

Harsh words but applicable.  When one attorney cannot trust the word of another attorney or his/her office in situations like this,  it makes for a very bad situation and leaves defendants in limbo wondering about a plea bargain agreement until the judge accepts the agreement and the agreement goes forward.  No one wants to have the plea bargain set aside at the very last minute.  By then there could be incriminating statements made by the defendant.  Not a good situation to be in.    I applaud Judge Bright for his words.

Source:  Kansas City Star, Prosecutors changed deal with Jamal T. Norris after they decided it was too lenient, by Mark Morris