United States v. Ronald M. Potts, Steven H. Larsen, Olen R. Collum, Tyrone R. Swader, and Michael J. Houlahan

Federal agents arrested all five appellants aboard a fishing vessel in San Francisco Bay. The vessel was returning from international waters where its crew members, the. appellants, had loaded it with approximately 45,000 pounds of marijuana. Each appellant pled guilty to importation of marijuana. The district court sentenced the appellants pursuant to a plea agreement in which the government agreed to recommend a period of incarceration of not more than eight years for appellant Swader and not more than ten years for the other four men. In this appeal appellants ask that their sentences be vacated and their cases remanded for resentencing before a new judge.

At the time of sentencing, the district court commented extensively upon the circumstances of the plea, particularly the seriousness of the crime, the key role that the defendants played in it, and their apparent unwillingness to learn the identities of those higher up in the importation operation. The district judge indicated that he felt a maximum sentence would be in order for all the defendants, but respected the plea bargain in light of the complexity of the case. He sentenced in accordance with it.

In asking us to…