United States v. Davila - Post-Decision SCOTUScast

On June 13, 2013, the Supreme Court announced its decision in United States v. Davila. This case considered whether judicial participation in plea negotiation, in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1), automatically requires the vacating of a subsequent guilty plea--regardless of whether the violation prejudiced the defendant.

By a vote of 9-0 the Court held, per an opinion by Justice Ginsburg, judicial participation in violation of Rule 11(c)(1) does not require that a defendant’s guilty plea be vacated if the record shows no prejudice to the defendant’s decision to plead guilty. Justice Scalia filed an opinion concurring in part and in the judgement, which was joined by Justice Thomas.

To discuss the case, we have Mark Bonner, who is an Associate Professor at Ave Maria School of Law.

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