United States v. Castro

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. ALEJANDRO GUTIERREZ CASTRO, Defendant.

No. 5:15-CR-27-2 (LAG)

United States District Court, M.D. Georgia, Macon Division

April 20, 2023

ORDER

LESLIE A. GARDNER, JUDGE

Before the Court is the Government's Motion to Dismiss. (Doc. 49). Therein, the Government moves to dismiss the Indictment against Defendant Alejandro Gutierrez Castro pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a). (Id. at 1).

Rule 48(a) “allows the government to dismiss an information (or indictment) before trial with ‘leave of court.'” United States v. B. G. G., 53 F.4th 1353, 1356 (11th Cir. 2022). “[T]he ‘leave of court' requirement” is primarily intended “to ‘protect a defendant against prosecutorial harassment.'” Id. at 1361 (quoting Rinaldi v. United States, 434 U.S. 22, 29 n.15 (1977)) (other citation omitted). When moving for dismissal “under Rule 48(a), the government is entitled to a presumption of good-faith.” United States v. Dyal, 868 F.2d 424, 428 (11th Cir. 1989); see also B. G. G., 53 F.4th at 1362 (“[A]lthough rule 48(a) is meant to be ‘a check on the abuse of [e]xecutive prerogatives,' it . . . also recognizes that the government is 'the first and presumptively the best judge of whether a pending prosecution should be terminated.'” (quoting United States v. Cowan, 524 F.2d 504, 513 (5th Cir. 1975)) (second alteration in original))). “[G]enerally, a [R]ule 48(a) dismissal is without prejudice and does not bar a later prosecution unless a contrary intent is clearly expressed” in the motion to dismiss. B. G. G., 53 F.4th at 1369.

Here, the Government represents that “Defendant has remained a fugitive” since July 22, 2015, “and his whereabouts are unknown.” (Doc. 49 at 1). Because the Government is not motivated by any improper consideration and acting in good faith, the

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Government's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 49) is GRANTED. See Dyal, 868 F.2d at 428-29. Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 48(a), the charges against Defendant are DISMISSED without prejudice.

SO ORDERED