Robert Louis Brandon v. United States
SocialSecurity Immigration
Is a district court's error under Rehaif v. United States a structural error that warrants automatic reversal of a guilty plea?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED The questions presented are: 1. Is a district court’s error under Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), a structural error that warrants automatic reversal of a guilty plea, as the Fourth Circuit has held, or is there no structural error in the context of Rehaif, as most other circuits have held?! 2. Relatedly, what prejudice inquiry (if any) applies to appellate review of an unknowing and involuntary guilty plea?2 1The Petitions for a Writ of Certiorari in Isaac L. Hobbs v. United States, No. 20-171 (cert. petition filed Aug. 13, 2020) and United States v. Rodney Lavalais, No. 205489 (cert. petition filed Aug. 24, 2020) raise the same issue. 2 The Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in United States v. Rodney Lavalais, No. 205489 (cert. petition filed Aug. 24, 2020) raises the same issue. i