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Government Did Not Breach Agreement to Make No Recommendation as to Sentence in "Package Deal" Plea Bargain

By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

United States v. Neal Hall, No. 07-2373, (3d Cir. February 8, 2008), involves a "package deal plea bargain" in which the government accepted defendant husband?s guilty plea to willfully failing to file tax returns on the condition that co-defendant wife also plead guilty. Only Dr. Hall appealed.Dr. Hall first argued that the District Court failed to exercise the "special care" required in determining whether a plea entered during a joint plea hearing as part of a tied plea agreement was voluntary.The Court begins by observing that (1) "package deal" plea agreements must be disclosed to the court, and (2) colloquies must be conducted with special care to ensure the plea is voluntary. Here, although the district court did not follow a specific script, the Court found the plea was voluntary considering defendant?s education and intelligence and the fact that Dr...continue to full post

Full post as published by Third Circuit Blog on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).