United States v. Dean

KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge:

This appeal raises the question of whether a district court has the authority to modify a portion of a plea agreement relating to the civil forfeiture of property. In this case, after accepting the defendant’s plea of guilty, the district court modified the plea agreement. The modification released the defendant from his promise to withdraw his claim to seized funds. The court based its decision to alter the terms of the agreement on the ground that the forfeiture would violate the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause. The government argues that the district court…