United States v. Gilberto Redondo-Lemos

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Redondo-Lemos pled guilty to an offense which carries a statutory minimum sentence of 5 years. The district court nevertheless sentenced him to 18 months, based on a finding that the Office of the United States Attorney acted arbitrarily and discriminated on the basis of gender in plea bargaining with this defendant. We must decide whether the district court may so second-guess the United States Attorney’s exercise of prosecutorial discretion. We answer unequivocally: yes and no.

Facts

Gilberto Redondo-Lemos was caught transporting 695 pounds of marijuana into…