United States v. Thomas D. Gaertner

Defendant-appellant, Thomas D. Gaertner, appeals from an order of the district court denying his motion for arrest of judgment and withdrawal of his plea of nolo contendere to one count of tax evasion. The sole issue on appeal is whether the failure of the trial court to adopt the sentence recommended by the government pursuant to a plea agreement constitutes a rejection of the plea agreement under Rule 11, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and therefore requires the trial court to offer the opportunity to withdraw the plea, as mandated by Rule 11(e)(4). We hold that the trial court’s…