§3296 Counts dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement

Summary

Federal judges must put back charges that were dropped as part of a plea deal when four things are true: the charges were originally filed within the time limit for bringing them; the judge approved a plea deal that dropped those charges while the defendant pleaded guilty to other counts; the defendant later asked the court to cancel that guilty plea and the court did so; and the United States asks to reinstate the dropped charges within 60 days after the court’s order canceling the plea becomes final. The judge can still hear any defenses or objections to the charges that are put back, but the defendant cannot use the time limit for filing charges (the statute of limitations) to block them.