United States v. Williams

LINDA R. READE, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA

ORDER REGARDING MAGISTRATE'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION CONCERNING DEFENDANT'S GUILTY PLEA I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

On March 2, 2017, a one-count Indictment was filed against Defendant Vincent Keith Williams, Jr. On April 12, 2017, Defendant appeared before United States Chief Magistrate Judge C.J. Williams and entered a plea of guilty to Count 1 of the Indictment. On April 13, 2017, Judge Williams filed a Report and Recommendation in which he recommended that Defendant's guilty plea be accepted. No objections to Judge Williams's Report and Recommendation were filed. The court, therefore, undertakes the necessary review of Judge Williams's recommendation to accept Defendant's plea in this case.

II. ANALYSIS

Pursuant to statute, this court's standard of review for a magistrate judge's report and recommendation is as follows:

A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.
The district judge must consider de novo any objection to the magistrate judge's recommendation. The district judge may accept, reject, or modify the recommendation, receive further evidence, or resubmit the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions.

28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Similarly, Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 59(b) provides for review of a magistrate judge's report and recommendation on dispositive motions, where objections are made, as follows: Fed. R. Crim. P. 59(b)(3).

United States v. Cortez-Hernandez, No. 15-2314, 2016 WL 7174114, at *3 (8th Cir. Dec. 9, 2016) (per curiam), suggests that a defendant may have the right to de novo review of a magistrate judge's recommendation to accept a plea of guilty even if no objection is filed. But see 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Crim. P. 59(b). The district court judge will undertake a de novo review of the Report and Recommendation if a written request for such review is filed within fourteen days after this order is filed. --------

In this case, no objections have been filed, and it appears to the court upon review of Judge Williams's findings and conclusions that there is no ground to reject or modify them. Therefore, the court ACCEPTS Judge Williams's Report and Recommendation of April 13, 2017, and ACCEPTS Defendant's plea of guilty in this case to Count 1 of the Indictment.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED this 1st day of May, 2017.

/s/_________

LINDA R. READE, JUDGE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA