Opinion ID: 884016
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Did Smith's sentence violate his constitutional right to due process?

Text: Prior to trial, the State offered Smith a plea agreement under which it would recommend a probationary sentence, deferred or suspended depending on his prior record, in exchange for a guilty plea to the theft charge. Smith rejected the offer and exercised his right to a jury trial. After the jury found Smith guilty of the offense of felony theft of stolen property, the District Court sentenced Smith to the Department of Corrections and Human Services for placement in an appropriate institution or program for ten years. Smith contends that the sentence penalized him for exercising his right to a jury trial in violation of his right to due process. District courts have broad discretion in sentencing defendants convicted of criminal offenses. State v. Lloyd (1984), 208 Mont. 195, 199, 676 P.2d 229, 231. We generally review a criminal sentence only for legality  that is, to determine whether it is within the statutory parameters established by the legislature; where a sentence is within those parameters, we generally will affirm it. See State v. Almanza (1987), 229 Mont. 383, 386, 746 P.2d 1089, 1091. There are, however, exceptions to these general rules. Punishing a person for exercising a constitutional right is a basic due process violation. State v. Baldwin (1981), 192 Mont. 521, 525, 629 P.2d 222, 225 (citations omitted). Indeed, in Baldwin, we vacated and remanded for resentencing because we were unable to determine from the record whether the defendant was punished for exercising his right to a jury trial after rejecting a plea agreement. Baldwin, 629 P.2d at 226. In Baldwin, the trial court was directly involved in the unsuccessful plea negotiation process. The defendant chose not to plead guilty and the case proceeded to trial. After the defendant's conviction, the trial court imposed a much harsher sentence than it originally had offered in exchange for a guilty plea. Baldwin, 629 P.2d at 224. We held that a trial court which involves itself in an unsuccessful plea bargaining process and, thereafter, imposes a harsher sentence than was offered in exchange for a guilty plea, must expressly point out the factors which justify the increased sentence. Baldwin, 629 P.2d at 226. Because the trial court had not done so, there was no assurance that the sentence was not increased in retaliation for the defendant's insistence on a jury trial; on that basis, we remanded for resentencing. Baldwin, 629 P.2d at 226. We followed Baldwin and remanded for resentencing on substantially similar facts in State v. Tate (1982), 196 Mont. 248, 639 P.2d 1149. Here, Smith concedes that the District Court was not involved in any way in the unsuccessful plea negotiations between himself and the State. Thus, Baldwin has no application here. Smith also concedes that the District Court specified the bases for the sentence it imposed, and he does not challenge any of those bases. Simply put, nothing on the record before us supports Smith's claim that his sentence was improperly increased because he exercised his right to a jury trial. We hold, therefore, that Smith's sentence did not violate his constitutional right to due process. Affirmed. TURNAGE, C.J., and ERDMANN, HUNT and LEAPHART, JJ., concur.