Judge overstepped his authority by blocking deferred prosecution agreement, appeals court says
A trial judge who refused to suspend speedy trial limits because of his disapproval of a deferred prosecution agreement “significantly overstepped” his authority, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The decision (PDF) on Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the refusal by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who deemed the deferred prosecution agreement too lenient, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) report.
The panel opinion was written by Judge Sri Srinivasan, who was said to be on a shortlist of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees before the nomination of Merrick Garland.
Fokker, an aerospace company, was accused of violating U.S. sanctions by shipping aircraft parts to Iran, Sudan and Myanmar. The deferred prosecution agreement required the company to pay $21 million in fines and penalties. If the company met conditions of the agreement, the criminal case would be dismissed in 18 months. The government had asked Leon to suspend speedy trial requirements to give it time to assess Fokker’s conduct.
Leon had said the deferred prosecution agreement with Fokker Services would promote disrespect for the law and was “grossly disproportionate” to the gravity of the company’s conduct.
The appellate opinion said it wasn’t taking a stance on Leon’s concerns. “The fundamental point,” Srinivasan wrote, “is that [charging] determinations are for the executive—not the courts—to make.”
