United States v. Dreyer, No. 10-50631 (9th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his sentence of ten years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to charges related to a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances at the age of 73. Defendant was a practicing psychiatrist at the time he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at the age of 63. The court held that the record before the district court at sentencing was sufficient to cause a genuine doubt as to defendant's competence and that the district court committed plain error by failing to order a hearing sua sponte. Accordingly, the court vacated the sentence, remanded for further proceedings, and directed that all further proceedings be assigned to a new judge on remand.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on January 7, 2013.
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