United States v. Thompson, No. 13-1182 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his conviction after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a mixture containing methamphetamine and use of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Defendant contended that the district court improperly participated in plea negotiations and failed to advise him of the maximum sentence for the drug trafficking crime. Defendant did not object to any purported Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 errors at the district court. The court concluded, under plain error review, that whether the district court's comments constituted improper participation in plea negotiations is a close call under Rule 11(c)(1). Assuming improper participation, defendant failed to show a reasonable probability that, but for the Rule 11 errors, he would not have pleaded guilty. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Criminal case - Criminal law. Defendant did not waive the right to challenge the voluntariness of his guilty plea; the district court's failure to advise defendant during his plea hearing that he still faced a potential life sentence on one of the counts was plain error; assuming for purposes of discussion that the district court's comments at the plea constituted improper participation in plea negotiations in violation of Rule 11 and that the error was plain, defendant has failed to demonstrate a reasonable probability that but for the cited errors, he would not have entered a guilty plea, and he was not entitled to relief.
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