Title: State v. Rich
Citation: 305 N.W.2d 390
Docket Number: 13166
State: south-dakota
Issuer: south-dakota Supreme Court
Date: May 6, 1981

305 N.W.2d 390 (1981) STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Leland RICH, Defendant and Appellant. No. 13166. Supreme Court of South Dakota. Argued February 11, 1981. Decided May 6, 1981. Mark W. Barnett, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for plaintiff and appellee; Mark V. Meierhenry, Atty. Gen., Pierre, on brief. *391 Joseph Neiles, Asst. Public Defender, Rapid City, for defendant and appellant; Steven D. Rich, Rapid City, on brief. MORGAN, Justice. The State had originally charged appellant Leland Rich (appellant) with first-degree rape in violation of SDCL 22-22-1(1). After negotiating a plea bargain, appellant pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted first-degree rape in violation of SDCL 22-4-1 and SDCL 22-22-1(1). The trial court sentenced appellant to serve ten years at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Appellant appealed from that sentence. We affirm. Appellant was arrested pursuant to a complaint signed and filed against him, which alleged that he had violated SDCL 22-22-1(1), first-degree rape. Following a preliminary hearing, appellant was bound over to circuit court on the charge and arraigned on the information. At that time, appellant pleaded not guilty to the charge. Appellant later negotiated and signed a "Waiver of Rights and Plea," or plea bargain. The pertinent portions of the plea bargain were as follows: Appellant was arraigned on and pleaded guilty to the amended information that charged him with attempted first-degree rape in violation of SDCL 22-4-1 and SDCL 22-22-1(1). Before accepting the plea, the trial court reiterated the terms of the plea bargain and questioned appellant as to the voluntariness of his plea. The trial court went on to say: A mitigation hearing was held prior to sentencing. Before hearing testimony, the trial court informed appellant that "[y]ou have been advised that the maximum fine or sentence that may be imposed is a fine in the sum of $12,500 and a sentence in the Penitentiary for a term of twelve and a half years." The trial court reiterated the loss of rights and said: The trial court then heard testimony at the mitigation hearing, after which it sentenced appellant to ten years at the state penitentiary. At no time did appellant move to withdraw his plea. It is apparent from the record, therefore, that the trial court on at least two separate occasions informed appellant that it could give him the maximum sentence regardless of the plea bargain. At no time, however, did the trial court specifically accept or reject appellant's plea bargain. Appellant argues that the trial court erred by not following the portion of SDCL 23A-7-11 which specifically requires that the trial court inform the parties of its rejection of the plea bargain. Appellant contends that by sentencing the defendant to more years at the state penitentiary than the number bargained for, the trial court in effect rejected the bargain itself. SDCL 23A-7-8 reads as follows: The first kind of sentence agreement set out in subsection 2 above is the kind involved herein. SDCL 23A-7-8 is clear and unambiguous, so we merely read the statute as written and ascertain its meaning therefrom. See Matter of Aiken, 296 N.W.2d 538 (S.D.1980). SDCL 23A-7-8 is almost word for word the same as Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(e)(1), and more particularly, subsection 2 of our state statute is in fact word for word the same as subsection B of the federal rule. In United States v. Sarubbi, 416 F. Supp. 633, 636 (D.N.J.1976) (emphasis in original), the court stated: In State v. Doherty, 261 N.W.2d 677, 681 fn. 7 (S.D.1978), we specifically adopted Sarubbi and expressed our dislike for the subsection B type of agreement made in the present case. In the context of this case, where the trial court repeatedly advised appellant of his rights and of the fact that it was not bound by the agreement, we hold that the trial court's nonacceptance of the recommended maximum five to six years' sentence did not constitute a rejection of appellant's plea bargain with the State which would have afforded him a right to withdraw his plea under Sarubbi. In order to avoid misleading defendants, lawyers should proceed with extreme caution when bargaining for sentence recommendations as provided for in SDCL 23A-7-8(2). Accordingly, we affirm. All the Justices concur.