United States v. Juan Gonzalez

MEMORANDUM

Gonzalez, Cervantes, and Leon appeal their convictions following guilty pleas to single counts of being aliens found in the United States following deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . We vacate the convictions and sentences, and remand each of the cases to the district court for an individualized determination of whether to accept their binding plea agreements consistent with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c).

The government charged each defendant with illegal reentry, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 , and the parties entered into binding plea agreements pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(C) under the Central District of California’s fast-track program. The binding plea agreements were filed in the district court on March B, 2011 (Gonzalez), May 2, 2011 (Cervantes), and April 7, 2011 (Leon), and the cases were later assigned to Judge Stephen Wilson.

During the period of time from at least September of 2010 until December of 2011, Judge Wilson was on record as maintaining a blanket policy against accepting any binding plea agreements in fast-track cases. Once the cases were assigned to Judge Wilson, the parties abandoned their…