Opinion ID: 3000623
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: McCoy’s Plea Agreement

Text: According to McCoy, as part of his plea agreement, he agreed to cooperate with the government with the understanding that the government would move the district court to impose a sentence reflecting his assistance. McCoy argues that the government breached the plea agreement. Because McCoy failed to present this argument to the district court at sentencing, we review the district court’s judgement for plain error. United States v. D’Iguillont, 979 F.2d 612, 614 (7th Cir. 1992). In order to prevail, McCoy must show that there was error; the error was plain or obvious; the error affected his substantial rights; and the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Salazar, 453 F.3d 911, 913 (7th Cir. 2006) (citation omitted). “A prosecutor’s refusal to request a downward departure is . . . not reviewable for arbitrariness or bad faith.” United States v. Burrell, 963 F.2d 976, 985 (7th Cir. 1992). The government’s evaluation of the extent of a defendant’s assistance is accorded substantial weight. See U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, Application Note 3. “The prosecutor, not the court, is to assess the value of the defendant’s assistance.” Burrell, 963 F.2d at 985. However, “the government must fulfill any promise that it expressly or impliedly makes in exchange for a defendant’s guilty plea.” United States v. Ingram, 979 F.2d 1179, 1184 (7th Cir. 1992) (citing Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 261 (1971)). Because plea agreements are contracts, their content and meaning are determined according to ordinary contract principles. Id. “A defendant’s rights under a plea agreement are limited by what the parties in fact agreed to.” United Nos. 05-2127 & 05-2220 17 States v. Lezine, 166 F.3d 895, 901 (7th Cir. 1999). In exchange for McCoy’s guilty plea, the government agreed to dismiss the remaining counts of his indictment. Additionally, the plea agreement stated: If the defendant provides substantial assistance before sentencing, the United States agrees to move the Court to impose a sentence reflecting that assis- tance. . . . The decision whether to make such a re- quest based upon substantial assistance rests entirely within the discretion of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin. McCoy argues that because the government acknowledged that he had provided substantial assistance prior to sentencing, it was obligated to file a motion for downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1.6 In support of his contention that the government had determined that he had provided substantial assistance before sentencing, McCoy relies on two statements made by the government. First, the government told the probation officer, about a month before sentencing, that it planned to file a § 5K1.1 motion at or prior to sentencing. Second, at sentencing, the government told the court that “immediately upon his arrest . . . [McCoy] began providing very full cooperation, very significant cooperation in several cases including homicides both here and in other locations.” The government acknowledges that McCoy provided significant cooperation; however, it contends that McCoy’s cooperation was not complete at the time of his sentencing and denies ever characterizing McCoy’s assistance as 6 Section 5K1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines provides that “upon motion of the government stating that the defendant has provided substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense, the court may depart from the guidelines.” 18 Nos. 05-2127 & 05-2220 being “substantial.” The government also contends that the terms of the plea agreement gave it the sole discretion to file a U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 motion. See Burrell, 963 F.2d at 985 (finding that “the government’s refusal to move for departure pursuant to § 5K1.1 was within its prosecutorial discretion”). As in Burrell, the government did not promise McCoy a § 5K1.1 motion in exchange for his guilty plea. Instead, the government agreed to dismiss counts one through six of the indictment, and acknowledged its discretion to move for a sentence reflecting McCoy’s assistance if it determined that he had provided substantial assistance. At sentencing, the government indicated that it intended to file a motion for a reduction in McCoy’s sentence pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 35(b) if McCoy’s cooperation continued and asked the court to dismiss the remaining counts against McCoy. Although the determination of when a defendant has provided substantial assistance is a power that can be abused, we agree with the government that pursuant to the plea agreement, McCoy had agreed that the decision whether to move for departure rested entirely within the government’s discretion. Because the government did not induce McCoy’s guilty plea by an unkept bargain and because the remaining counts against McCoy were dismissed, the government did not breach the plea agreement.