How bad does a plea colloquy have to be to get the Fourth Circuit to reject an Anders brief and set it aside?
Because Mastrapa protested having any knowledge of the conspiracy or the drug crime and the only evidence in the record was the affidavit of the DEA agent, which likewise failed to provide evidence of mens rea, the district court could not have found a sufficient factual basis for the mens rea element of the conspiracy offense for which it adjudged Mastrapa guilty. ...
Telling in this case is the fact that Mastrapa never changed his position. In addition to his statements to the magistrate judge during the Rule 11 proceeding, Mastrapa also told the probation officer that he did not know what was going on during the drug transaction, and he said the same thing to the district court at sentencing...
I guess because the defendant was poor and worked 15 hours per day, the District Court (Glen E. Conrad) figured he must of done something and accepted the plea. Tnx. SL&P
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