Nguyen v. United States & Phan v. United States
Nguyen and Phan, residents of Guam, were convicted of conspiracy to import, possess and distribute methamphetamine. A unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the conviction. The panel included the chief district judge for the district of the North Mariana Islands, a non-article III judge, sitting by designation.
Question Presented:
Whether the presence of a non-Article III judge on a Court of Appeals panel that voted unanimously to affirm a criminal conviction automatically vitiates that decision.
