Background
Lamar Brown pleaded guilty to a felony violation of lifetime supervision in 2015 and was sentenced to five to twenty years imprisonment. After exhausting state remedies, Brown filed a federal habeas petition under Section twenty-eight United States Code Section two thousand two hundred fifty-four, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court granted the petition in June 2024, vacating the felony conviction. While the state appealed, the local prosecutor negotiated a new plea deal with Brown for a misdemeanor conviction, which Brown accepted and was sentenced to time served in October 2024.
The court’s reasoning
The panel held that an appeal must be dismissed as moot when an intervening event prevents the court from granting any effectual relief. The court found that the state’s new plea agreement with Brown was a legally binding contract that Brown had a due process right to enforce. Because the state voluntarily entered this agreement and Brown was already sentenced, the state could not unilaterally unwind the plea to reinstate the original felony conviction. Unlike cases where a new trial is ordered, here the state had already received the benefit of the bargain, and reversing the district court would not relieve the state of any burden.
Because the State voluntarily entered a new legally binding plea agreement with Brown regarding his lifetime supervision violation which Brown has a due process right to enforce, this Court cannot afford the State any relief by reversing the district court’s order regarding his initial conviction.
Brown v. Oliver, 24-4725 (9th Cir. July 16, 2026)
What it means going forward
State prosecutors cannot rely on a federal habeas vacatur to reinstate a prior felony conviction if they have already negotiated and secured a new plea agreement with the defendant that has been accepted and sentenced.