Court Opinion

ID: 9641938
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 17:43:42.577202+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:40.964931
License: Public Domain

JAMES M. SMART, Jr., Presiding Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the decision to vacate the sentence and to remand for resentencing. I do so only because of the appearance based on the trial court’s remarks, that Wright’s decision to plead not guilty and request a trial was a substantial factor in sentencing. I do this reluctantly, however, because there is reason to doubt that the sentence actually violated defendant’s rights in any way.
The trial judge did not say, “Well, Mr. Wright, in my view, a total term of two years would ordinarily be appropriate for these offenses, but because you decided to plead not guilty and request a trial, I am going to punish you for that decision by giving you the maximum I can give you under the circumstances. I am going to run the two two-year sentences consecutively.” Nor, on the other hand, did the trial court say, “Well, Mr. Wright, I am going to go with the jury’s recommendation of two two-year sentences, which I will run consecutively because there are no particular mitigating factors which dictate that I run them concurrently. If you had *85elected to take responsibility for your actions, and to plead guilty, I might have been inclined to be lenient. Perhaps I would have run the sentences concurrently. But, under the circumstances, I am inclined not to grant clemency.”
If this case had involved remarks identical to either of the foregoing, the analysis would be easy. In the first hypothetical, we would readily declare that the sentence violated the rights of the defendant. In the second hypothetical, however, the sentence would not have violated the defendant’s rights. The theoretical norm is a plea of not guilty, because there is no legal duty to plead guilty. Therefore, a decision to plead guilty generally should be considered a factor warranting clemency. It can be difficult, however, if not impossible, in analyzing a few short remarks made at the time of sentencing, to know the extent to which the actual sentence considerations were more akin to the first hypothetical than the second.
Sentencing is the province of the trial court, not the appellate court. Trial judges must be allowed great discretion in sentencing matters. There are many, many factors for the trial court to consider in sentencing. Sentencing is a complex and difficult task that seldom lends itself to a mechanical matrix. Judges do not always feel obligated to set forth for the record with great elucidation their mental processes. -At times, a decision to withhold clemency may appear to be a decision to increase punishment. It is important to grant substantial latitude to the judge’s oral remarks, allowing the trial court the benefit of the doubt that proper grounds were employed. However, where the trial court’s language is such as to create an appearance, under the circumstances of the case, that the court is punishing the defendant for exercising the right to plead not guilty, it is appropriate to vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. In doing so, it is inappropriate for us to suggest to the trial court what is or is not a proper sentence within the range of punishment provided by law. We rely upon the integrity of the trial court to take any corrective action which is necessary.