United States v. Rivera, No. 10-50426 (9th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute 214.4 grams of actual methamphetamine. Defense counsel indicated that Defendant wanted his family members, including his wife and young son, present at the sentencing hearing. The district court, however, ordered that Defendant's family members be excluded from the sentencing proceedings after expressing displeasure at what it perceived as the manipulative use of Rivera's young son as a sentencing "prop." The Ninth Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence, holding that Defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated by the district court's exclusion of his family members from the sentencing proceedings. Remanded for re-sentencing.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.