Libretti v. United States, 516 U.S. 29, 10 (1995)

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38

LIBRETTI v. UNITED STATES

Opinion of the Court

property covered by the order under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(f). Absent such a finding, Libretti argues, even his concession to forfeiture in the plea agreement cannot authorize the forfeiture.

A

Libretti's first claim is that the Rule by its very terms applies to a forfeiture provision contained in a plea agreement. Accordingly, our analysis must begin with the text of Rule 11(f):

"Determining Accuracy of Plea. Notwithstanding the acceptance of a plea of guilty, the court should not enter a judgment upon such plea without making such inquiry as shall satisfy it that there is a factual basis for the plea."

By its plain terms, the Rule applies only to a "plea of guilty." Our precedent makes clear that this language refers to a defendant's admission of guilt of a substantive criminal offense as charged in an indictment and his waiver of the right to a jury determination on that charge. See, e. g., United States v. Broce, 488 U. S. 563, 570 (1989) ("By entering a plea of guilty, the accused is not simply stating that he did the discrete acts described in the indictment; he is admitting guilt of a substantive crime"); North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U. S. 25, 32 (1970); Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U. S. 238, 242 (1969); McCarthy v. United States, 394 U. S. 459, 466 (1969). With this definition in mind, we have held that a district judge satisfies the requirements of Rule 11(f) when he "determine[s] 'that the conduct which the defendant admits constitutes the offense charged in the indictment or information or an offense included therein to which the defendant has pleaded guilty.' " Id., at 467 (quoting Advisory Committee's Notes on Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 11, 18 U. S. C. App., p. 730).

A forfeiture provision embodied in a plea agreement is of an entirely different nature. Forfeiture is an element of the

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