Public Defense

In United States v. Mammedov, No. 06-2971-cr (2d Cir. December 30, 2008), the court vacated a restitution order where the district court failed to set a payment schedule and, at least implicitly, ordered that the full amount be paid immediately. Ordering immediate payment when nothing in the record suggests that the defendant can comply is an abuse of discretion.

In United States v. Jibade, No. 08-1746-cr (2d Cir. January 7, 2009), the district court told the defendant that he faced possible deportation for his tax fraud conspiracy conviction when, in fact, deportation was mandatory. The court held that this warning was adequate because it put the defendant "on notice" that his guilty plea had immigration consequences so that he could pursue the matter later. Even assuming, however, that the warning was misleading or inacurate, in violation of Rule 11, the court did not vacate the plea because the defendant did not show a reasonable probability that he would not have pled guilty if not for the statements.

Full post as published by Second Circuit Blog on January 17, 2009 (boomark / email).