Case Information
*1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA CEDAR RAPIDS DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 24-CR-34 CJW-MAR Plaintiff,
vs. ORDER REGARDING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND GABRIEL ALEJANDRO RECOMMENDATION HERNANDEZ-ROMAN, CONCERNING DEFENDANT’S GUILTY PLEA Defendant. __________________________
I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND On April 25, 2024, a one-count Indictment was filed against defendant. On June 28, 2024, defendant appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Mark A. Roberts and entered a plea of guilty to the lesser-included offense of count one of the Indictment. On June 28, 2024, Judge Roberts filed a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) in which he recommended defendant’s guilty plea be accepted. The parties did not file objections to Judge Roberts’ R&R. The Court, therefore, undertakes the necessary review of Judge Roberts’ recom mendation to accept defendant’s plea in this case.
II. ANALYSIS Under the statute, this C ourt’s standard of review for a magistrate judge’s R&R is as follows:
A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.
28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C).
When parties do not object to a magistrate judge ’s report and recommendation, the Court reviews the report and recommendation for clear error. 28 U.S.C. §
Case 1:24-cr-00034-CJW-MAR Document 21 Filed 07/15/24 Page 1 of 2 *2 636(b)(1)(A). Similarly, Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 59(b) provides for review of a magistrate judge’s R&R on dispositive motions, where objections are made, as follows:
The district judge must consider de novo any objection to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. The district judge may accept, reject, or modify the recommendation, receive further evidence, or resubmit the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions.
F ED . R. C RIM . P. 59(b)(3). [1]
In this case, the parties filed no objections, and it appears to the Court upon review that Judge Roberts’ findings and conclusions are not clearly erroneous. Therefore, the Court ACCEPTS Judge Roberts’ R&R of June 28, 2024, and ACCEPTS defendant’s plea of guilty in this case to the lesser-included offense of count one of the Indictment.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 15th day of July, 2024.
_________________________ C.J. Williams, Chief Judge United States District Court Northern District of Iowa
[1] United States v. Cortez-Hernandez , 673 F. App’x 587, 590 -91 (8th Cir. 2016) (per curiam), suggests that a defendant may have the right to de novo review of a magistrate judge’s recommendation to accept a plea of guilty even if no objection is filed. 2 Case 1:24-cr-00034-CJW-MAR Document 21 Filed 07/15/24 Page 2 of 2