Opinion
20-CR-198-JFH-SH
10-17-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. SARAH MICHELLE PRESLEY, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
JOHN F. HEIL, III UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Before the Court is a motion for leave to dismiss without prejudice (“Motion”) filed by the United States of America (“Government”). Dkt. No. 60. The Government requests leave to dismiss the indictment [Dkt. No. 14] without prejudice as to Defendant Sarah Michelle Presley (“Defendant”). Id. Defendant pled guilty to a misdemeanor information on June 29, 2022 [see Dkt. No. 48; Dkt. No. 54] and was sentenced by Magistrate Judge Susan E. Huntsman on October 13, 2022 [see Dkt. No. 58].
Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 48(a), “courts must grant prosecutors leave to dismiss charges unless dismissal is clearly contrary to manifest public interest.” United States v. Robertson, 45 F.3d 1423, 1437 n.14 (10th Cir. 1995) (quoting Rinaldi v. United States, 434 U.S. 22, 30 (1977)). The Court concludes that dismissal of the felony charge against Defendant is not contrary to the public interest, nor is it for an improper purpose. The Government's motion to dismiss should be granted.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Government's motion for leave to dismiss without prejudice [Dkt. No. 60] is GRANTED and the indictment [Dkt. No. 14] is dismissed without prejudice as to Defendant Sarah Michelle Presley.
Following the consent of Defendant to proceed before a magistrate judge on misdemeanor counts and sentencing having been held, the remaining felony count is hereby dismissed and the Clerk is directed to terminate the district judge from the case assignment. The case number is hereby changed to 20-CR-198-SH and all future pleadings should be marked accordingly.