United States v. Dixon

PRECEDENTIAL Argued on July 19, 2002 OPINION OF THE COURT The primary issue in this appeal is whether the District Court committed plain error in accepting defendant Dante Dixon's guilty plea by overstating to Dixon, by 30 years, the statutory maximum sentence he faced. Dixon contends that had he known the correct maximum sentence he faced, he might have chosen to plead not guilty and take his chances at trial. He therefore urges us to vacate his sentence so that he may withdraw his guilty plea and his case may be restored to its pre-guilty plea posture. Because Dixon has failed to demonstrate that he was prejudiced by the overstated sentence, we conclude that he is not entitled to plain error relief. However, we remand this case for the District Court to correct the sentence it imposed.