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The Binding Effect of Plea Agreements In White Collar Crimes

By Elkan Abramowitz and Jonathan Sack
November 01, 2024

White-collar defense attorneys often represent targets of investigation who, by the nature of their conduct, are subject to federal prosecution throughout the country. As a practical matter, though, federal investigations are usually conducted by a single U.S. attorney's office. If a defendant enters into a plea agreement with that office, what is the binding effect on other districts? Does the defendant get complete closure, or is the defendant exposed to possible prosecution by another office?

Federal plea agreements sometimes state explicitly that they are limited to that one office and do not bind other U.S. attorney's offices. That is true in the eastern and southern districts of New York, and such agreements have been construed to bind only the one office. But many districts do not use that specific language. Plea agreements often refer to promises made on behalf of "the United States" or "the government," and such phrasing has created ambiguity in subsequent prosecutions of a defendant who has a plea agreement with another district. In such cases, the circuits are split on how to interpret the scope of "the government."

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