Plea Withdrawal

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Tyree M. Neal, Jr.

Case No.: 17-2976

Officials: BAUER, KANNE, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Plea Withdrawal

At sentencing Tyree M. Neal, Jr. asserted that he was not guilty of conspiring to distribute cocaine because the facts, as he saw them, did not demonstrate that he agreed with others to buy and sell cocaine. The district court responded by observing that Neal had already pleaded guilty and in doing so conceded that the government’s factual proffer sufficed to prove the offense of conspiracy. So the court proceeded to sentencing and imposed a term of 30 years’ imprisonment, reflecting the scale of the drug-distribution conspiracy as well as Neal’s violent conduct while resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, and extensive criminal history. On appeal Neal contends that the district court should have treated the reservations he expressed at sentencing as a motion to withdraw his plea. We affirm, as the record shows not only that Neal voluntarily pleaded guilty, but also that there was a sufficient factual basis to support the plea.

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.