United States v. Angel Del Valle-Rojas

Appellant was convicted upon his guilty plea of aiding and abetting illegal entry of aliens, a misdemeanor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2 and 8 U.S.C. § 1325 . He now appeals, contending that he should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and that his right to confront the witnesses against him was abridged.

Appellant moved to withdraw his guilty plea on the day set for his sentencing. He said he no longer felt he was guilty.

The government contested the motion, pointing out that it had relied on the guilty plea in releasing the key witnesses to return to Mexico and that their presence would be virtually impossible to obtain again. The government also pointed out that the appellant was an experienced offender and that he had bargained for a misdemeanor plea in this case, which had commenced as a felony prosecution.

While a withdrawal of a guilty plea should be freely allowed prior to sentencing, Kadwell v. United States, 315 F.2d 667, 670-671 (9th Cir. 1963), there is no absolute right to change a plea. Sherman v. United States, 383 F.2d 837, 840 (9th Cir. 1967). Rather, the decision is committed to the sound discretion of the district court. See United States v.…