Summary
In Tobar, defendant was wrongly advised that the maximum allowable sentence was 15 years, when it was actually life imprisonment.
Summary of this case from KEEL v. UNITED STATESOpinion
No. 77-5404. Summary Calendar.
Rule 18, 5 Cir.; see Isbell Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizens Casualty Co. of New York et al., 5 Cir., 1970, 431 F.2d 409, Part I.
January 10, 1978.
Horace P. Rowley, III, New Orleans, La. (court-appointed), for defendant-appellant.
Frank J. Violanti, U.S. Atty., Wallace D. Baldwin, Asst. U.S. Atty., Balbao, Canal Zone, for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone.
Before GOLDBERG, CLARK and FAY, Circuit Judges.
Manuel Tobar pled guilty to the charge of burglary enhanced by the Canal Zone's habitual criminal statute, Title 6 Canal Zone Code § 113. When pleading guilty, appellant was wrongly advised that the maximum allowable sentence was fifteen years when it is life imprisonment. Rule 11(c)(1), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, mandates that a defendant pleading guilty be advised of the maximum sentence allowed by law.
Because the district court failed to comply with Rule 11 in accepting Tobar's guilty plea, Tobar must be allowed to plead anew. Sierra v. Government of Canal Zone, 5 Cir. 1977, 546 F.2d 77; McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969); see United States v. Journet, 2 Cir. 1976, 544 F.2d 633.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.