U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney refused to accept Samueli's deal with prosecutors a year ago, saying it 'gives the impression that justice is for sale.' The Broadcom co-founder and former chairman sat with his wife, Susan, in a Pasadena courtroom as his attorney, Gordon Greenberg, asked a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Carney's ruling. In questioning Greenberg, the judges appeared skeptical that the lawyer had grounds for his request. 'All the (lower) court is saying is that this is the wussiest looking plea agreement I have ever seen,' Circuit Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez said. Outside court, the Samuelis and lawyers for both sides declined to comment. In his ruling last year, Carney pointed out that Nancy Tullos, Broadcom's former human-relations director, had been required to cooperate with prosecutors as part of her plea bargain -- a burden not imposed on Samueli. Greenberg argued that Carney was improperly pressuring Samueli to waive his constitutional right against self-incrimination. He contended that the judge relied on unproven allegations against Samueli, who is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator. Greenberg said Carney appeared to be trying to force Samueli to help the government criminally prosecute Broadcom co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III, the microchip company's former chief executive, and William J. Ruehle, its former finance chief. Nicholas and Ruehle, who have pleaded not guilty, could be sentenced to lengthy prison terms if convicted. 'It is clear the court wanted Dr. Samueli (to testify) and was sending a very strong message that he should cooperate,' Greenberg said. He said prosecutors had 'candidly conceded' to Samueli's probation officer that they 'could not prove' that Samueli committed securities fraud for his role in misdating $2.2 billion in Broadcom stock options. Samueli, 53, pleaded guilty last year to lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has filed a civil lawsuit alleging Samueli, Nicholas, Ruehle and former Broadcom general counsel David Dull engaged in 'a five-year systematic scheme to secretly backdate stock options granted to virtually all Broadcom officers and employees,' excluding Samueli and Nicholas. In rejecting Samueli's plea bargain, Carney indicated that he would prefer to hear the evidence in the Ruehle and Nicholas trials before deciding what Samueli's role was -- and what sentence would be appropriate. At the appeals court hearing, George S. Cardona, acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, told the appeals panel that while prosecutors acknowledged they had a weaker case against Samueli, they never said they couldn't prove it. The 9th Circuit has no authority yet to overturn Carney, Cardona said, maintaining that Samueli can file an appeal later if he wants to contest whatever sentence is passed down. Fernandez said Carney's statements did not appear to be an attempt to require Samueli's testimony but instead to put on record the concerns that led the judge to reject the deal with the government. 'He's saying there's a lot of facts in front of me, a lot of information that makes me uneasy,' the appeals judge said. U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. of Sacramento, filling in on the appeals panel, said the plea agreement contained a specific warning that the deal was conditional and based on the judge's approval. Carney 'did not say you have to testify,' England said. Broadcom's $2.2 billion restatement of its financial results was the largest amount among about 200 companies caught up in the scandals over backdating options to make them more valuable. Samueli's plea bargain provided for him to be placed on probation and assessed a special fine of $12 million, far more than the $250,000 financial penalty attached to the statute he admitted violating. 'The court cannot accept a plea agreement that gives the impression that justice is for sale,' Carney wrote in rejecting the plea bargain a year ago. In a document filed with Carney, prosecutors described Samueli's role at Broadcom as less hands-on than those of Nicholas and Ruehle and referred to the finding of an internal company investigation that faulted the latter two, not Samueli, in the improper backdating. Most written documents filed with the appeals court were sealed at the request of Samueli's lawyers on grounds that their release would violate the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. 