Court Opinion

ID: 9850312
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:55:06.09196+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:34.947014
License: Public Domain

HOWE, Justice
(concurring in the result):
I concur in the result. While I agree with much of the “misplea” analysis of the majority opinion, I prefer to rest my concurrence on the ground that Rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure does not authorize a plea agreement between the defendant and the judge concerning the sentence to be imposed. Subsections (e)(6) and (f) of that rule provide:
(e)(6) If it appears that the prosecuting attorney or any other party has agreed to request or recommend the acceptance of a plea to a lesser included offense, or the dismissal of other charges, the same shall be approved by the court. If recommendations as to sentence are allowed by the court, the court shall advise the defendant personally that any recommendation as to sentence is not binding on the court.
(f) The judge shall not participate in plea discussions prior to an agreement being made by the prosecuting attorney, but once a tentative plea agreement has been reached which contemplates entry of a plea in the expectation that other charges will be dropped or dismissed, the judge, upon request of the parties, may permit the disclosure to him of such tentative agreement and the reasons therefore in advance of the time for tender of the plea. A judge may then indicate to the prosecuting attorney and defense counsel whether he will approve the proposed disposition. Thereafter, if the judge decides that final disposition should not be handled in conformity with the plea agreement, he shall so advise the defendant and then call upon the defendant to either affirm or withdraw his plea.
It is to be noted that these subsections authorize only plea agreements between the prosecution and the defendant for the entry of a plea to a lesser included offense in the expectation that other charges will be dropped or dismissed. There is nothing in the language of the subsections which would authorize a plea agreement with the prosecution or the judge based on the sentence to be imposed. To the contrary, subsection (e)(6) states that if in the disclosure to the court, a recommendation as to sentencing appears, the court shall advise the defendant personally that any recommendation as to sentence is not binding on the court.
The agreement made by the trial judge here to impose a life sentence is not authorized by Rule 11 and thus is not enforceable by either the defendant or the court. Furthermore, even if the agreement were authorized, the last sentence of Rule 11(f) gives the judge the right to rescind his approval of it before sentencing. Thus, I conclude that the judge was free to withdraw from the agreement prior to the time that sentencing was actually pronounced. Due process, however, demands that the defendant who was lead into pleading guilty upon the sentencing agreement of the judge now be allowed to withdraw his plea should he so desire. United States v. Gilligan, 256 F.Supp. 244. Should the defendant elect to do so, the trial court can take such prophylactic measures as are necessary to afford the defendant a fair trial untainted by knowledge of the making and withdrawal of the guilty plea.
This result, i.e., that the agreement is unenforceable (but not void) and that the trial judge may withdraw from any promise made as to sentencing before sentencing is actually pronounced, will not bring about the mischief feared by the majority opinion. A defendant who has been sentenced in accordance with a judge’s plea agreement has no complaint. He has received the benefit of an executed agreement and would not be freed for mere technical errors. The trial judge here was *1311fortunate to have detected his error before sentencing and should be allowed to withdraw from his commitment provided he restores the defendant to his original position without prejudice.