United States v. Chavful

Defendant Jesse Chavful pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. The charge arose from a negotiation to sell drugs in November 2011 and an actual sale in June 2012. Chavful and the Government entered into a cooperation agreement: Chavful agreed to plead guilty and provide information to the Government in exchange for a guarantee that this information was “not to be used to increase Chavful’s Sentencing Guideline level or used against Chavful for further prosecution.” At sentencing, the Government introduced information about a different, intervening drug transaction- information that the Government acquired under the protection of Chavful’s plea agreement. The Government relied on this information to support its theory that the November and June transactions were separate and that therefore Chavful should be accountable for both. The district court sentenced Chavful based on a Guidelines range that took into account the amount of drugs transacted in both November and June. Chavful appealed his sentence. The Fifth Circuit, after review, vacated the sentence and remanded: the text of Chavful’s agreement, the Guidelines, and precedent all supported the conclusion that the Government breached the plea agreement. As the Government’s conduct was at odds with Chavful’s reasonable expectation “that his agreements prohibited information he provided . . . from being used against him.” View "United States v. Chavful" on Justia Law