In United States v. Shehadeh, --- F.3d ---, No. 18-10399 (9th Cir. 2020), the Court considered the scenario in which a defendant's sentencing hearing takes place before a hearing on restitution.
The defendant waited to file the notice of appeal until after the restitution hearing. The government argued it was untimely because the defendant did not appeal
within fourteen days of the district court’s entry of judgment
of his custodial sentence.
The Court rejected the government's argument, holding that where a district
court defers its restitution order, a defendant wishing to
appeal his conviction and sentence of imprisonment may
enter a notice of appeal either within fourteen days following
the district court’s entry of the custodial sentence, or within
fourteen days of the entry of the amended judgment, which
includes the amount of restitution.
The Court also held that, until the restitution hearing takes place, the sentence is not final. Thus, a defendant may file a motion to withdraw his plea in the interim between the initial sentencing hearing and the restitution hearing.
On the facts of this case, however, the Court held that there was no error in denying the defendant's motion to withdraw his plea.
