United States v. Ajayi

935 F. Supp. 90, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9516, 1996 WL 387407
CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedJuly 3, 1996
DocketCR No. 95-093-T
StatusPublished

This text of 935 F. Supp. 90 (United States v. Ajayi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Ajayi, 935 F. Supp. 90, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9516, 1996 WL 387407 (D.R.I. 1996).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

TORRES, District Judge.

On November 8, 1995, a Federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Adetayo Ajayi for making false statements in connection with passport applications in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1542 (1996). Count I charges that on March 29, 1995, Ajayi made a false statement in seeking a passport for his own use. Count II charges that on April 18, 1995, he made a false statement in an application seeking a passport for another person.

On January 4,1996, Ajayi proffered a plea of guilty to the charge contained in Count I. The plea was tendered pursuant to a plea agreement under which the government promised to recommend a sentence at the low end of the applicable Guideline range and move for dismissal of Count II. The plea agreement specifically notes that those recommendations are not binding on the Court and that Ajayi has no right to withdraw his plea if the Court does not accept them.

During the plea colloquy, the Court confirmed that Ajayi understood that the government’s recommendations were not binding on the Court. In addition, Ajayi was informed that the determination as to whether Count II should be dismissed would be based upon the facts contained in the presen-tence report (the “PSR”). The exact dialogue was:

Q. Do you understand, Mr. Ajayi, that the Court is not bound by that agreement; in other words, the Court does not have to accept any recommendations that the government may make pursuant to the agreement about what sentence you receive or whether Count II should be dismissed. Do you understand that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you understand the Court makes an independent decision and bases that decision on the facts as revealed in the presentence report?
A. Yes.

(1/4/96, Tr. at 12-13).

After finding that Ajayi’s decision was both knowing and voluntary and that all of the requirements of Fed.R.Crim.P. 11 had been satisfied, the Court “accepted” the plea of guilty to Count I and scheduled the matter for sentencing on March 21,1996.

Prior to the scheduled sentencing date, the Court received the PSR which contained a number of significant facts not previously disclosed. The PSR revealed that the “other person” that Ajayi allegedly assisted in fraudulently obtaining a passport was Ajayi’s girlfriend and that she later pled guilty to four counts of negotiating fraudulent checks through the use of false identifications. Furthermore, the PSR disclosed that, after learning that his girlfriend had testified before the grand jury that indicted him, Ajayi assaulted and threatened her. The PSR also showed that a search of Ajayi’s apartment uncovered a variety of drivers’ licenses, birth certificates and Social Security cards in the names of other persons as well as unnegotiat-ed checks payable to thirteen different people. One of the drivers’ licenses was a New Hampshire license in the name of Stanley Thornton that bore Ajayi’s photograph. Ajayi has not disputed the accuracy of the information contained in the PSR.

In addition, the PSR revealed that any sentence imposed for the offense charged in Count II likely would be considerably greater than any sentence imposed for the offense charged in Count I because different provisions of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) apply to each count. Count II is governed by § 2L2.1 which establishes a higher base offense level to reflect the fact that trafficking in fraudulently obtained passports is more serious than fraudulently obtaining passports for one’s own use. U.S.S.G. § 2L2.1 (Nov. 1995). [93]*93Moreover, § 2L2.1 permits the documents seized during the search of Ajayi’s apartment to be taken into account as specific offense characteristics and as relevant conduct. In contrast, that information is excluded from consideration by § 2L2.2 which governs Count I.1 U.S.S.G. § 2L2.2 (Nov. 1995). As a result, the sentencing range applicable to Count I would be somewhere in the vicinity of 6 to 12 months, whereas the range applicable to Count II would be approximately 30 to 37 months.

After reviewing the PSR, the Court expressed concern about the portion of the plea agreement dealing with the dismissal of Count II. The Court’s purpose in raising the issue at that time was to avoid the unfair surprise that would result if the motion to dismiss Count II was denied after the defendant was sentenced on Count I. The Court made it clear that it would not be inclined to grant any motion to dismiss Count II unless counsel could present reasons justifying such action. Accordingly, the matter was rescheduled to May 24, 1996, and counsel were afforded an opportunity to file memoranda. Counsel also were advised by letter that, if the Court determined that Count II should not be dismissed, Ajayi should be prepared to inform the Court whether he wished to withdraw his guilty plea to Count I.

On May 24, the Court decided that Count II should not be dismissed and that the defendant should be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea to Count I.2 On June 24, 1996, Ajayi declined the opportunity to withdraw his plea and the case was scheduled for trial.

Both parties objected to the Court’s decision to reject the plea agreement. The Government’s objection appears to be two-fold. First, it argues that “acceptance” of the plea to Count I precludes the Court from rejecting the plea agreement and that, in any event, the Court erred in determining that Count II should not be dismissed. Second, it contends that the refusal to dismiss Count II is not a basis for rejecting the plea agreement because the agreement requires only that the Government request dismissal of Count II and makes it clear that the Court is not obliged to accede to that request. The defendant’s objection is more difficult to decipher but also seems to be based on the Court’s refusal to dismiss Count II.

Because both parties challenge the decision not to dismiss Count II and because that decision is likely to be the subject of an interlocutory appeal, the Court has vacated the trial date and is writing this Memorandum and Order in the hope that it will present a more complete record for consideration by the Court of Appeals.

Discussion

1. Authority to Reject Plea Agreement

The contention that, because the Court accepted Ajayi’s guilty plea to Count I, it lacks authority to reject the plea agreement, overlooks the distinction between the plea of guilty and a plea agreement Obviously, there is a close relationship between a guilty plea and a plea agreement pursuant to which the plea is entered. However, the two are not synonymous. United States v. Ewing, 957 F.2d 115, 118 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 505 U.S. 1210, 112 S.Ct. 3008, 120 L.Ed.2d 882 (1992) (recognizing distinction between a plea of guilty and a plea agreement).

Rule 11, itself, recognizes that a plea and a plea agreement are not one and the same. Most of the provisions of Rule 11 deal with pleas and the requirements that must be satisfied before they can be accepted.

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Bluebook (online)
935 F. Supp. 90, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9516, 1996 WL 387407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-ajayi-rid-1996.