Opinion ID: 760471
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Fusco's Purported Plea Withdrawal

Text: 64 The Government and Fusco disagree on what relief Fusco sought in the District Court concerning his plea. Fusco contends that he sought to withdraw his plea. The Government contends that Fusco sought only a departure from the sentence that had been agreed upon in the plea bargain. We conclude that Fusco was not moving for a plea withdrawal, but only for a more lenient sentence. 65 The plea and the plea agreement had not yet been accepted when Fusco made his application. A Rule 32(e) plea withdrawal motion was technically not available. What Fusco sought in reality was to retain the benefits of his plea agreement, urge its acceptance, and simultaneously renegotiate the length of the previously bargained-for sentence. The task for Chief Judge Sifton was to consider whether to accept the plea agreement and the plea, and he properly turned to that task. In response to Fusco's argument, Chief Judge Sifton stated: 66 [T]he only reason I would reject this plea is because, given the guidelines that exist, I feel it is appropriate to depart from those guidelines in imposing a more lenient sentence. And if I reach that conclusion, then I will reject the plea agreement. 67 However, Chief Judge Sifton declined to make a departure and therefore accepted the plea and imposed sentence. Moreover, it would have made no sense for Fusco to withdraw his plea, since, in light of the Government's opposition to a departure downward from the agreed-upon 14-year sentence, he would have faced trial on all five counts of the indictment. 68 Thus, the only real issue raised is whether the trial court applied the correct standard to Fusco's request for a departure from the bargained-for sentence of the plea agreement. Even if we assume, for the argument, that the denial of a sentence departure, urged as a reason for modifying a plea agreement, may be reviewed on appeal, Chief Judge Sifton acted well within his discretion. The standards for a downward departure on medical grounds are strict, see U.S.S.G. § 5H1.4; United States v. Altman, 48 F.3d 96, 104 (2d Cir.1995) (holding that extraordinary physical impairment required by guideline for downward departure requires medical conditions that Bureau of Prisons is unable to accommodate). The plea agreement was properly accepted, and the sentence properly imposed.