Opinion
Case No. 20cr1206-MMA
08-14-2020
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ENRIQUE MARQUEZ-LOPEZ, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION TO WITHDRAW GUILTY PLEA
[Doc. No. 30]
Defendant Enrique Marquez-Lopez is charged in a single-count Information with importing approximately .50 kilograms (1.10 pounds) of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidiny] propanamide (Fentanyl), in violation of Title 21, United States Code, sections 952 and 960. See Doc. No. 21. On May 19, 2020, Defendant pleaded guilty to the charge. See Doc. No. 22. This Court accepted Defendant's guilty plea. See Doc. No. 26. Defendant now moves to withdraw the plea of guilty pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11. See Doc. No. 30. The government does not oppose the motion.
A district court may permit a defendant to withdraw an accepted guilty plea before sentencing if "the defendant can show a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal." Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B). The defendant has the burden of demonstrating a fair and just reason for withdrawal of the plea, see id.; however, the standard is applied liberally. See United States v. Nagra, 147 F.3d 875, 880 (9th Cir. 1998); see also United States v. Signori, 844 F.2d 635, 637 (9th Cir. 1988) (stating that a motion to withdraw a plea pre-sentence should be "freely allowed"). "Fair and just reasons for withdrawal include inadequate Rule 11 plea colloquies, newly discovered evidence, intervening circumstances, or any other reason for withdrawing the plea that did not exist when the defendant entered his plea." United States v. Ortega-Ascanio, 376 F.3d 879, 883 (9th Cir. 2004).
Here, Defendant seeks to withdraw his previously entered plea of guilty based on post-plea developments, to wit, subsequent testing which revealed the controlled substance at issue to be heroin. See Def. Ex. 1. The Court finds that these circumstances constitute a "fair and just reason" for withdrawal of Defendant's guilty plea.
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Defendant's motion.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATE: August 14, 2020
/s/_________
HON. MICHAEL M. ANELLO
United States District Judge