01-3509 U.S. v. Kelly

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“The judge’s reasons for rejecting the pleas are sufficiently sound. Most significantly, Kelly’s plea attempt on the distribution counts occurred very close to the end of the trial. Substantial judicial resources had already been spent on the trial and on Kelly’s prior unsuccessful plea attempts. See United States v. Shepherd, 102 F.3d 558, 562 (D.C. Cir. 1997) (lateness of defendant’s request to plead guilty is a proper factor to consider in rejecting plea). Additionally, in light of counsel’s assurance that he had reviewed the indictment with Kelly numerous times and in light of Kelly’s four prior aborted plea attempts, the judge reasonably interpreted Kelly’s remarks during the plea colloquy as an indication that he did not want to plead guilty and that he was wasting the court’s time. See Kraus, 137 F.3d at 453 (emphasizing the district court’s responsibility to ensure that the defendant’s plea is ‘voluntary and knowing’). Because the judge articulated a sound reason for the rejection, she did not abuse her discretion in rejecting Kelly’s guilty pleas.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Conlon, J., Bauer, J.