United States v. Stanley Plesinski

Stanley Plesinski appeals from his conviction following a conditional plea of guilty for conspiracy to possess marijuana with the intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). Plesinski appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment or to disqualify Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanford Feldman on the grounds Feldman was unauthorized, due to an ineffective appointment, to represent the government in the criminal proceedings. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

On May 18, 1988, a four-count indictment was filed against Stanley Plesinski and co-defendant Jacob Vinograd on drug-related charges. The indictment was subsequently superseded on September 9, 1988, and again on January 12, 1989. The second superseding five-count indictment charged Plesinski with conspiring in 1985 to possess marijuana with the intent to distribute, possession of marijuana in 1985, conspiring in 1988 to possess marijuana with the intent to distribute, and two counts of possession of marijuana in 1988.

Sanford Feldman, a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California, participated in the indictment, prosecution, and sentencing of Plesinski. Feldman was…