USA v. Nicole Schuster
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Vacated
The Third Circuit vacated Nicole K. Schuster’s conviction for violating the Procurement Integrity Act, holding that the district court plainly erred by accepting her guilty plea without a sufficient factual basis. Interpreting 41 U.S.C. § 2102(a), the court ruled that disclosing bid information from a past procurement violates the statute only if the information is the same in substance as information submitted in a pending procurement, a showing not made in the plea record.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
What is required to show that a Rule 11(b)(3) error affected a defendant’s substantial rights on plain-error review when the factual basis for a guilty plea is challenged?
Circuit Positions
Apply Dominguez Benitez ‘reasonable-probability’ test—defendant must show a reasonable probability that, but for the error, she would not have pled guilty.
Defendant satisfies substantial-rights prong if the record as a whole lacks a sufficient factual basis for the plea (no need to show different plea decision).
Conflict Summary
Most circuits require the defendant to show a ‘reasonable probability’ that, but for the error, he or she would not have entered the plea (the Dominguez Benitez standard). The Tenth Circuit instead holds that the defendant need only show that the record as a whole fails to supply a sufficient factual basis for the plea, without proving a likelihood of a different plea decision.