The People of the Territory of Guam v. Amelita T. Estrebor

Amelita Estrebor, a resident alien, pled guilty to theft on April 2,1985. In October 1985, the Immigration and Naturalization Service sent an order to Estrebor to show cause why she should not be deported from the United States. In December 1985, Estrebor filed a motion to withdraw and then re-enter her guilty plea. She claimed that at the time she pled guilty she was unaware that her plea could subject her to deportation, see 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (a)(4), and that she had a statutory right within thirty days of her sentencing to seek the court’s recommendation that she not be deported. See 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (b)(2). She stated that the withdrawal and re-entry of the plea would give her an opportunity to request that recommendation. The superior court allowed the withdrawal of the plea on the ground of “manifest injustice”, 8 Guam Code Annotated § 120.42. The government appealed the superior court’s decision to the District Court of Guam, Appellate Division, which affirmed the decision. The government now appeals the district court’s decision to this court.

As we noted in an earlier case: “It has long been established that the government may not appeal in a criminal case in the absence of…