Plea & Sentencing – Plea Agreement

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Raul Perez-Gonzalez v. Jacqueline Lashbrook

Case No.: 18-1480

Officials: RIPPLE, KANNE, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Plea & Sentencing – Plea Agreement

Raul Perez‐Gonzalez pleaded guilty to first degree murder for his role in a gang‐related killing. His plea agreement called for a thirty‐five year prison sentence and required him to testify truthfully in any prosecution against his co‐defendants. More than one year after agreeing to these terms and pleading guilty, as the trial of a co‐defendant approached, Perez‐Gonzalez had second thoughts and declined to testify. For this refusal, he was convicted of contempt of court, resulting in an additional ten‐ year sentence.

After exhausting his state court remedies, Perez‐Gonzalez petitioned for habeas corpus asserting the State breached the plea agreement by requesting the contempt sanction, and that the Illinois Appellate Court unreasonably concluded to the contrary. The district court denied his habeas petition, but granted his request for a certificate of appealability. Perez‐ Gonzalez contends the plea agreement immunized him from contempt proceedings. Although he presents a reasonable interpretation of the plea agreement, he has not proved that the state appellate court’s alternative interpretation was unreasonable, so we affirm the judgment of the district court.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.