Criminal
Feb. 4, 2011
Prosecutor's Hardball Tactics Upheld
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a prosecutor's discretion to file prior convictions to increase a mandatory minimum sentence unless a defendant pleads guilty at the start of a case.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Prosecutors who filed a defendant's prior convictions to increase his mandatory minimum sentence when he did not plead guilty at the start of his case were not out of line, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Wednesday. Reversing U.S. District Judge Marilyn H. Patel, the panel held "there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the prosecution's decision to present its best offer up front....
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