Fernandez v. United States · ¶23

Still, the District Judge remained troubled about Fernandez's murder-for-hire conviction. No new evidence had surfaced. But the judge continued to focus on Rivera—the getaway driver who had pleaded guilty to a less serious charge. In his order vacating the frearms conviction, the judge speculated that the Government had offered Rivera such a lenient plea deal because it “kn[ew] something” inconsistent with Darge's testimony. Id., at 174, n. 4. And if Darge was lying, the judge wondered, “perhaps there is something to Petitioner's argument, that not he, but Patrick Darge's brother . . . was the second shooter, and that Patrick Darge testified to cover that up.” Ibid. Notably, the Second Circuit had already rejected this argument twice, and Fernandez had not briefed it again before the District Court. But the judge brought it up anyway, pointedly noting that if Fernandez's life sentence…

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