What a plea agreement can and cannot promise, the colloquy a court must conduct, conditional pleas that preserve an issue, withdrawing a plea before and after sentence, the guideline calculation and the objections that matter, mandatory minimums and the routes around them, acceptance of responsibility, and the sentencing hearing itself.
Federal plea agreements routinely waive the right to appeal a conviction and sentence and to attack the judgment collaterally. Courts enforce such waivers where the plea was knowing and voluntary and the sentence falls within the terms waived. Exceptions include a sentence above the statutory maximum, one based on an impermissible factor, a claim that the waiver was not knowing, and ineffective assistance in negotiating the plea.
Federal cooperation is structured around a motion the government alone may file. Guideline section 5K1.1 permits a departure on a government motion stating that the defendant provided substantial assistance, and a separate statute permits a sentence below a mandatory minimum on a similar motion. Rule 35(b) allows a reduction after sentencing for assistance rendered later. Courts review a refusal to move only for unconstitutional motive or, where the agreement so provides, for bad faith.
Section 1B1.1 prescribes an ordered method: select the offense guideline, determine the base offense level and apply specific offense characteristics, apply Chapter Three adjustments for victim, role and obstruction, repeat for multiple counts and group them, apply acceptance of responsibility, determine the criminal history category, and read the range from the sentencing table. Section 1B1.3 defines the relevant conduct counted, and disputed facts are resolved on a preponderance standard.
Rule 11(b)(3) requires a court to determine that there is a factual basis for a plea before entering judgment. The basis must cover each element of the offense, and the court may draw on the defendant's own statement, a proffer by the government, the presentence report, or any reliable source in the record. The requirement is not satisfied by an admission of guilt in the abstract. The recitation then shapes the presentence report, the guideline calculation and any later collateral proceeding.
A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute rather than by the guidelines. Where the minimum exceeds the calculated guideline range, the guideline provision on statutory limits makes the minimum the range. Two routes lead below: a government motion reflecting substantial assistance, and the safety valve for qualifying defendants meeting statutory criteria. Triggers include drug type and quantity, prior convictions noticed by information, and firearm counts that run consecutively.
A departure applies a ground recognized in the guidelines to move above or below the calculated range, and Rule 32(h) requires notice where a court contemplates one on a ground not raised by the parties. A variance rests on the statutory sentencing factors and needs no guideline authorization or advance notice. Both must be explained, and the explanation grows more substantial as the sentence moves further. Review examines the calculation for procedural error and the result for reasonableness.
Rule 11(d) permits withdrawal of a guilty plea before the court accepts it for any reason or no reason. After acceptance and before sentencing, withdrawal requires either that the court reject a binding plea agreement or that the defendant show a fair and just reason. Courts weigh any assertion of innocence, the delay between plea and motion, prejudice to the government, and the closeness of counsel's assistance. Rule 11(e) closes both routes once sentence is imposed.
Before accepting a guilty plea a federal court must address the defendant personally in open court and confirm understanding of the charge, the penalties including any mandatory minimum and maximum, the rights being surrendered, the court's obligation to consider the guidelines, and the terms of any appellate waiver. The court must separately determine that the plea is voluntary and that a factual basis exists. Omissions are reviewed for harmless error, or plain error if unobjected.
A plea agreement is interpreted using contract principles, with ambiguity construed against the government as drafter and with an added requirement of scrupulous performance because the defendant surrendered constitutional rights in reliance on it. Breach by the government is established by comparing the promise with the conduct, and the remedies are specific performance before a different judge or withdrawal. Breach by the defendant releases the government while leaving the conviction intact.
Rule 32 requires the probation officer to prepare a presentence report and disclose it at least thirty-five days before sentencing, with objections due within fourteen days of receipt. At the hearing the court verifies the parties have read the report, rules on unresolved objections that affect sentencing, hears argument, allows any victim to be heard, and permits the defendant to speak in mitigation. The court then states its reasons, and must advise the defendant of the right to appeal.
Rule 11(c)(1) allows the government to agree to dismiss charges, to recommend a particular disposition, or to agree that a specific sentence is the appropriate disposition. The first and third bind the court once accepted; the second does not, and the defendant must be told a recommendation carries no right to withdraw if the court declines it. Guideline calculation, restitution and other sovereigns lie outside any agreement.
