United States v. Judy Marietta Castello

Castello appeals the denial of her motion to withdraw her guilty plea before sentencing pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(d). The question is whether the prosecutor’s “all-or-nothing” plea offer to Castello and her co-defendants constituted improper coercion that rendered her plea involuntary. We hold that it did not.

FACTS

Castello was indicted on December 22, 1982 on one count of mail fraud and one count of false declarations before a grand jury. The indictment charged that Castel-lo, Alvin Martin, and two others defrauded insurance companies by filing false claims for accidental property loss.

The case was set for trial on March 14, 1983. The government prepared extensively and subpoenaed witnesses from as far as South Dakota.

During the week before trial, Castello reviewed extensive Jencks Act and grand jury materials with her counsel. The government negotiated with the defendants and their attorneys in order to settle the case. It declined to offer individual settlements, insisting instead on a common arrangement with all defendants. Initially, all defendants except Castello wished to negotiate. Finally, the government and Castello agreed that she would plead guilty on two…