Antonio Rodriguez-Lugo v. United States

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Antonio Rodriguez-Lugo (Lugo), who pled guilty in 1975 to posses sion of marijuana with intent to distribute, challenges the district court’s dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis premised on ineffective assistance of counsel and an allegedly defective plea colloquy.

Dismissal of Lugo’s coram nobis petition was proper, as the petition was barred by laches. Lugo failed to exercise reasonable diligence in delaying until 2009 to challenge his 1975 guilty plea. See Telink, Inc. v. United States, 24 F.3d 42, 48 (9th Cir.1994). The government was prejudiced by Lugo’s delay, as the record no longer permits the government to effectively rebut Lugo’s claims. See id. (“But for [Lugo’s] delay, -the government would have preserved its case, [and] reproseeution (if necessary) would have occurred earlier ... ”); see also United States v. Riedl, 496 F.3d 1003, 1008-09 (9th Cir.2007). The district court, therefore, properly dismissed Lugo’s petition as barred by laches. See id.

AFFIRMED.

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. . The parties agree that the district court erred in…