4 ms·
A lot of checks and balances in there to make sure the defendant knows what they’re doing and can’t claim later they want to change their mind. The government’s
by JCM9 4y ago
A lot of checks and balances in there to make sure the defendant knows what they’re doing and can’t claim later they want to change their mind. The government’s strategy on these sort of cases is to take out the little people with deals, get them to flip on the big boss, and then throw the book at the boss. They seem to be following that playbook here.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- akiselev 4y ago> THE COURT: And I say that because no one here knows for sure what your sentence will be -- your lawyers don't, the government doesn't, I don't -- because that's not going to be determined until a later date, after I get a presentence report from the probation department, I calculate the guidelines, I get submissions from you, the government and the probation department. > But even if your sentence is different from what you had hoped for or expected, you won't be allowed to withdraw your plea on that basis. IANAL but this makes it look like the case is so strong against her that she's just throwing herself at the mercy of the courts. All the cooperation buys her is brownie points with the judge, who might decide to make an example out of her anyway. They didn't even really have to flip her, she just walked in the front door.
- cm2187 4y agoBut if judges keept fucking people who enter those pleas to get a lighter sentence, that would defeat the purpose of those plea deals, and people would take their chance at trial, so I'd assume there is an incentive for the court to play ball.
- twelve40 4y agoWhat possible chance does she have at trial? To claim that she was zombified alive by her evil boyfriend? Because the rest of it seems pretty 2+2: there were X billion dollars, now thanks to these two CEOs and their friends, there is none. So it appears as if she flipped not out of goodness of her heart, or a fierce desire to restore justice, but because it's the only sane thing to do to save one's ass.
- wl 4y agoThat’s a standard admonishment given to the accused when they are accepting a plea deal. The only thing the prosecution can offer is a recommendation to the sentencing judge. Usually the judges agree, but they don’t always.
- dragonwriter 4y ago> That’s a standard admonishment given to the accused when they are accepting a plea deal. In the federal system. Like the bail situation, one of the reasons this violates people’s expectation is the federal system does not work the same as most state systems.
- whoiscroberts 4y agoIt’s also important that they don’t agree on a sentence too early because they might find out she played a larger role than they assume at this point.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> important that they don’t agree on a sentence too early The point is the prosecutor can’t agree to a deal. They can agree to recommend this or that. But a judge ultimately sentenced.
- dragonwriter 4y ago> It’s also important that they don’t agree on a sentence too early because they might find out she played a larger role than they assume at this point. There is no such thing as a sentencing agreement in the US federal system. At most, the defense and prosecution, when it gets to that point, could agree on recommendations, but the judge would still be free to disagree.
- jojobas 4y agoHer decision-making is possibly as affected by drugs as SBF's. They were a self-confessed stimulant mob.
- draw_down 4y agoHmm. I guess I don’t usually think of people in CEO positions as small fries. It’s not clear to me that ~100% of the blame for all this falls on the one guy.