New Twist In Broadcom Co-Founder's Plea Bargaining Matter

We've been following the events surrounding the plead agreement reached between the federal government and Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli for quite a while now. (see here and here). Last month, the U.S. District Court Judge handling the case rejected the plea deal, which included five years of probation, a $250,000 fine, and $12 million in restitution to the U.S. Treasury. According to the District Court Judge, the proposed deal would "erode the public's trust in the fundamental fairness of our justice system" and would give the perception that "justice is for sale." The matter is on appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Law.com has an update of events this week.

On Tuesday, Samueli and prosecutors declined to reject the plea deal, although both agreed to lift the binding provisions to allow the judge to consider a statutory maximum sentence of up to five years.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, clarified that Samueli opted to lift the binding sentencing provisions and prosecutors chose not to object to those changes. But he said prosecutors intend to seek the plea agreement's original probationary sentence when Samueli gets sentenced next year.