Opinion ID: 6335137
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Mandamus is Appropriate.

Text: Mandamus relief, though extraordinary, is appropriate under the circumstances. Such relief is reserved “for ‘questions of unusual importance necessary to the economical and efficient administration of justice’ or ‘important issues of first impression.’” John B. v. Goetz, 531 F.3d 448, 457 (6th Cir. 2008) (quoting In re Perrigo Co., 128 F.3d 430, 435 (6th Cir. 1997)). A district court’s “oft-repeated error” or “persistent disregard of the federal rules” also weighs in favor of mandamus. Id. This case presents these circumstances. First, whether a judge may comment on hypothetical plea agreements that it would or would not accept under Rule 11 is an issue of first impression in this circuit. It is also the first time that we have found it to be an abuse of discretion for a district court to reject a plea agreement without citing case-specific reasons. Second, this case involves important questions regarding plea agreement procedure and judicial involvement in pleas, both of which bear on the “efficient administration of justice.” See id. (quotation omitted). And as stated earlier, those questions might evade review if not considered at this time. Finally, there is evidence that this district court has had a long-standing and frequent practice of rejecting plea agreements containing appeal waivers, and of stating that practice to parties. Given that the United States apparently has its own blanket policy—of including these waivers in every plea agreement—this issue will almost certainly appear again. Considering the novel, important, and likely reoccurring questions presented in this petition, mandamus relief is appropriate. There is one final aspect of this case worth mentioning: the specific writ requested would remedy only one of the two underlying injuries. It is a well-settled principle that any relief sought from a court must, at a minimum, redress a party’s alleged harm. See Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561 (1992). A writ directing the district court judge to reconsider the plea bargain would of course redress the injury caused by the judge’s prior abuse of discretion, but it would not redress any injury caused by the judge’s Rule 11 violation. Instead of asking for a judicial reassignment so that the parties may freely engage in plea discussions, or for an order preemptively stopping improper judicial participation, the United States chose to request only No. 21-1318 In re United States Page 16 that the same plea agreement be reconsidered by the same district court that rejected it the first time. C.f. Barrett, 982 F.2d at 196 (assigning the case to a new judge on remand “[t]o cure th[e] improper judicial participation in the plea bargaining process”); United States v. Werker, 535 F.2d 198, 205 (2d Cir. 1976) (issuing a writ of mandamus ordering the district court to refrain from participating in plea discussions before such participation occurred). A court’s reconsideration would not grant the United States any relief from the court’s pretrial comments. Nevertheless, because the writ properly remedies the district court’s improper rejection of the plea agreement, issuance of the writ is warranted on that basis.