Joseph Libretti v. United States (516 U.S. 29)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 7, 1995 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 516 U.S. 29 · 116 S. Ct. 356
- Decided
- November 7, 1995
- Term
- October Term 1995
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner Joseph Libretti pleaded guilty to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, in violation of 84 Stat. 1265, 21 U. S. C. §848 (1988 ed. and Supp. V), and agreed to forfeit numerous items of his property to the Government. We must decide whether Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(f) requires the District Court to determine whether a factual basis exists for a stipulated asset forfeiture embodied in a plea agreement, and whether the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 31(e) right to a special jury verdict on forfeiture can only be waived following specific advice from the District Court as to the existence and scope of this right and an express, written waiver. I In May 1992, Joseph Libretti was charged in a multicount superseding indictment with violations of various federal drug, firearms, and money-laundering laws. Included in the indictment was a count alleging that Libretti engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE), in violation of 21 U. S. C. § 848, by operating a cocaine and marijuana distribution organization in Wyoming and Colorado from 1984 to 1992. Conviction under §848 subjects a defendant to, among other penalties, “the forfeiture prescribed in section 853.” 21 U. S. C. § 848(a). Accordingly, the indictment further alleged that the Government was entitled to forfeiture of property that was…
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