Opinion
No. 06 CR 417-2.
March 9, 2007
MEMORANDUM
This Court has received from counsel for the parties a draft Plea Agreement ("Agreement"), which they have advised is contemplated to lead to a change of plea by defendant Ruben Sanchez ("Sanchez") on April 5, 2007. This memorandum is issued sua sponte to pose a question that the parties will be expected to address at or before the contemplated change-of-plea date.
That draft Agreement, coupled with a comparable draft Plea Agreement for codefendant Juan Hernandez, calls for the vacatur of the previously-scheduled March 12 trial date and the entry of a Speedy Trial Act exclusion order under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(I) through the April 5 date. This Court has so ordered in both respects.
Agreement ¶ 7 sets out some assertedly "relevant conduct" previously engaged in by Sanchez, to be taken into account in determining the now advisory Sentencing Guideline range applicable to Count One of the indictment (the subject of the expected plea). In that respect our Court of Appeals has recently spoken to the concept of relevant conduct in substantially more restrictive terms than prior caselaw had reflected (United States v. McGowan, No. 06-1546, 2007 WL 601223 (7th Cir. Feb. 28). This Court expresses no ultimate view as to any potential impact of the McGowan decision on the situation in this case, but as stated earlier both the United States Attorney's Office and defense counsel Michael Clancy should be prepared to address that subject.