United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698 (7th Cir. 2015). · Go Syfert
United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698 (7th Cir. 2015). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
20 citation events (20 in the last 25 years) across 4 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: United States v. Clifton Savage (ca3, 2018-09-28)
Treatment trajectory · 2016 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2016 2021 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 16 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) United States v. Clifton Savage
3rd Cir. · 2018 · signal: cf. · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
because the written judgment failed to capture accurately the 4 unambiguous oral pronouncement, rule 36 allows for correction of such a clerical error at any time.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) United States v. Charmar Brown
8th Cir. · 2019 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence low
under federal rule of criminal procedure 35(a), the district court lost any power it may have had to correct an 'arithmetical, technical, or other clear error' in the sentence fourteen days after pronouncing sentence.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Tracey Shaw
6th Cir. · 2025 · confidence medium
But that reasoning “conflicts with the general rule that only a district court’s oral pronouncement is the sentence, and any conflicting written judgment is a ‘nullity.’” Harris, 51 F.4th at 720 (quoting United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Kerri Agee
7th Cir. · 2023 · confidence medium
Furthermore, when “the written judgment failed to capture accurately the unambiguous oral pronouncement,” Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 “al- lows for correction of such a clerical error at any time.” United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Nicole Smith
7th Cir. · 2023 · confidence medium
Furthermore, when “the written judgment failed to capture accurately the unambiguous oral pronouncement,” Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 “al- lows for correction of such a clerical error at any time.” United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Kelly Isley
7th Cir. · 2023 · confidence medium
Furthermore, when “the written judgment failed to capture accurately the unambiguous oral pronouncement,” Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 “al- lows for correction of such a clerical error at any time.” United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Chad Griffin
7th Cir. · 2023 · confidence medium
Furthermore, when “the written judgment failed to capture accurately the unambiguous oral pronouncement,” Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 “al- lows for correction of such a clerical error at any time.” United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Matthew Smith
7th Cir. · 2023 · confidence medium
Furthermore, when “the written judgment failed to capture accurately the unambiguous oral pronouncement,” Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 “al- lows for correction of such a clerical error at any time.” United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Yahtzee Harris (2×)
7th Cir. · 2022 · confidence medium
Id. (citing United States v. Agostino, 132 F.3d 1183, 1200 (7th Cir. 1997), and United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015)).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. David McClain
7th Cir. · 2021 · confidence medium
United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Adron H. Tancil
7th Cir. · 2020 · confidence medium
United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Adron H. Tancil
7th Cir. · 2020 · confidence medium
United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Frank Plada
7th Cir. · 2016 · confidence medium
See Fed.R.Crim.P. 36; United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir.2015); United States v. Johnson, 765 F.3d 702, 711 (7th Cir.2014).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Mark Cubie
7th Cir. · 2017 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015) (correcting a judgment improperly stating sentence was consecutive); United States v. Quintero, 572 F.3d 351, 353 (7th Cir. 2009) (affirming judgment corrected to include forfeiture on which all parties agreed); United States v. Alburay, 415 F.3d 782, 788 (7th Cir. 2005) (correcting special condition of supervised release).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Gerard Liles
7th Cir. · 2016 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir. 2015); United States v. Johnson, 765 F.3d 702, 710-11 (7th Cir.2014).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Willie Evans, III
7th Cir. · 2016 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Medina-Mora, 796 F.3d 698, 700 (7th Cir.2015); United States v. Alburay, 415 F.3d 782, 788 (7th Cir.2005).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
United States
v.
Jose Miguel MEDINA-MORA
Nos. 14-1243, 14-1420.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Aug 5, 2015.
796 F.3d 698
2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13694
2015 WL 4647840
Sunil R. Harjani, Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee., Barry Levenstam, Attorney, Jenner & Block LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendant Appellant.
Hamilton, Kanne, Posner.
Cited by 16 opinions  |  Published
1 passage pin-cited by 1 case
Pinpoint authority: bottom 70%
Citer courts: Eighth Circuit (1)
HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

When the district court sentenced defendant Jose Miguel Medina-Mora in 2009 for unlawful reentry by an alien, see 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) & (b)(2), he was serving undischarged terms in an Illinois state prison on a drug charge and a weapons charge. When the district court pronounced sentence orally in open court, the judge said that Medina-Mora was “committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a concurrent term of 77 months on Count One.” When the court issued' its written judgment, however, the court said nothing about a “concurrent” sentence. The Bureau of Prisons has used the written judgment to measure Medina-Mora’s imprisonment. Based on the silence in the written judgment, the Bureau has treated his 77-month federal sentence as consecutive to the two state sentences, so he did not begin earning credit toward his federal sentence until he finished his state sentences.

When Medina-Mora learned about the difference between what the judge said and what the judge wrote, he filed a motion in the district court under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 to correct a clerical error in the written judgment.[*700] The district judge denied the motion, concluding that his “use of the word ‘concurrent’ when imposing the sentence was in error” and that he “did not intend for the defendant’s sentence in the instant case to run concurrent with the sentences on the state convictions he was then serving.”

Medina-Mora has appealed, and we must reverse. When a court pronounces sentence orally, that is the defendant’s sentence, at least if the oral pronouncement is unambiguous. E.g., United States v. Alburay, 415 F.3d 782, 788 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Bonanno, 146 F.3d 502, 511 (7th Cir.1998); United States v. Becker, 36 F.3d 708, 711 (7th Cir.1994); accord, e.g., United States v. Love, 593 F.3d 1, 9 (D.C.Cir.2010); United States v. Villano, 816 F.2d 1448, 1450-51 (10th Cir.1987) (en banc). In such a case, a conflicting written judgment is “a nullity, not requiring further discussion.” Alburay, 415 F.3d at 788; see also United States v. Johnson, 765 F.3d 702, 710-711 (7th Cir.2014); United States v. Weathers, 631 F.3d 560, 561 (D.C.Cir.2011).

It is true that if the oral pronouncement is ambiguous, the court may consider the entire record, including .the written judgment, to resolve the ambiguity. E.g., United States v. Cephus, 684 F.3d 703, 709-10 (7th Cir.2012); United States v. Khoury, 901 F.2d 975, 977-78 (11th Cir.1990). We see no ambiguity in this oral pronouncement, however. Medina-Mora was convicted on only one federal charge. The only sentences with which the federal sentence could be “concurrent” were the state sentences.

Because the written judgment failed to capture accurately the unambiguous oral pronouncement, Rule 36 allows for correction of such a clerical error at any time. Medina-Mora is entitled to that correction.

In considering defendant’s motion to correct the clerical error in the written judgment, the district court erred by considering its original intentions and concluding that its use of the word “concurrent” was an “error.” Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(a), the district court lost any power it may have had to correct an “arithmetical, technical, or other clear error” in the sentence fourteen days after pronouncing sentence. At least after that time, the judge’s subjective intentions no longer mattered and could not justify the refusal to correct the clerical error. See United States v. Becker, 36 F.3d 708, 711 (7th Cir.1994); United States v. Werber, 51 F.3d 342, 347 (2d Cir.1995); Villano, 816 F.2d at 1451.

The denial of Medina-Mora’s Rule 36 motion is hereby REVERSED. With the correction of the clerical error, Medina-Mora may be entitled to release from Bureau of Prisons custody either immediately or in the very near future (though he is subject to a detainer from immigration authorities). To avoid further delay, we therefore ourselves direct the clerk of the district court to correct the clerical error. See United States v. Pulley, 601 F.3d 660, 668 n. 4 (7th Cir.2010). The clerk shall amend the judgment in this case to reflect that Medina-Mora’s federal sentence was to run concurrently with the undischarged state sentences he was subject to at the time of his federal sentencing. The mandate shall issue immediately and the clerk of the district court shall immediately notify the Bureau of Prisons of the correction so that Medina-Mora’s correct release date may be determined as soon as possible.

So ordered.