Rule 20. Transfer for Plea and Sentence

(a) Consent to Transfer. A prosecution may be transferred from the district where the indictment or information is pending, or from which a warrant on a complaint has been issued, to the district where the defendant is arrested, held, or present if:

1. the defendant states in writing a wish to plead guilty or nolo contendere and to waive trial in the district where the indictment, information, or complaint is pending, consents in writing to the court’s disposing of the case in the transferee district, and files the statement in the transferee district; and

2. the United States attorneys in both districts approve the transfer in writing.

(b) Clerk’s Duties. After receiving the defendant’s statement and the required approvals, the clerk where the indictment, information, or complaint is pending must send the file, or a certified copy, to the clerk in the transferee district.

(c) Effect of a Not Guilty Plea. If the defendant pleads not guilty after the case has been transferred under Rule 20(a) , the clerk must return the papers to the court where the prosecution began, and that court must restore the proceeding to its docket. The defendant’s statement that the defendant wished to plead guilty or nolo contendere is not, in any civil or criminal proceeding, admissible against the defendant.

(d) Juveniles.

1. Consent to Transfer. A juvenile, as defined in 18 U.S.C. §5031 , may be proceeded against as a juvenile delinquent in the district where the juvenile is arrested, held, or present if:

   • (A) the alleged offense that occurred in the other district is not punishable by death or life imprisonment;

   • (B) an attorney has advised the juvenile;

   • (C) the court has informed the juvenile of the juvenile’s rights—including the right to be returned to the district where the offense allegedly occurred—and the consequences of waiving those rights;

   • (D) the juvenile, after receiving the court’s information about rights, consents in writing to be proceeded against in the transferee district, and files the consent in the transferee district;

   • (E) the United States attorneys for both districts approve the transfer in writing; and

   • (F) the transferee court approves the transfer.

2. Clerk’s Duties. After receiving the juvenile’s written consent and the required approvals, the clerk where the indictment, information, or complaint is pending or where the alleged offense occurred must send the file, or a certified copy, to the clerk in the transferee district.