United States v. Savinon-Acosta

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• noting that defendant volunteered “more elaborate responses” to questions susceptible of “yes” and “no” responses
• emphasizing that \[t]he critical question\ is whether the defendant suffers from any impairment during a change-of-plea hearing that presently affects his ability to comprehend
• explaining that “merely technical failures to comply with Rule 11 are often found harmless”
• “Courts have commonly relied on the defendant’s own assurance (and assurances from counsel) that the defendant’s mind is clear.”
• “The critical question is whether the drugs—if they have a capacity to impair the defendant’s ability to plead—have in fact done so on this occasion.”
• \[M]edication can in some circumstances affect a defendant's mental state to a degree that undermines the defendant's ability to enter a voluntary plea.\

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).