Court Opinion

ID: 9571714
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:34:32.400359+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:30:50.765749
License: Public Domain

Brennan, D. J.,
concurring:
Who is to say what interpretation a judge gave to statements and argument made to him at the time of sentencing other than that judge.
Whether or not a judge misinterpreted what was told to him; whether he thought he heard counsel say “the defendant did” instead of “the defendant didn’t,” whether he failed to grasp *103the meaning of what others attempted to convey to him in their statements; whether due to impaired hearing or for any other reason is immaterial when that judge later says that he misunderstood, misinterpreted or did not hear what was stated to him.
And who but that sentencing authority can say that had he heard what was spoken to him or grasped the full import and essence of counsel’s argument that his sentence would not have been other than that imposed.
The sentencing judge should not have to file an affidavit with the State Board of Pardons Commissioners stating that he based the sentence he imposed on an erroneous interpretation of the facts presented to him and that had he been acting under a proper assessment and interpretation of the facts that his sentence would have.been less harsh or severe than that imposed.
To require a procedure similar to the above stated would undoubtedly put the sentencing court in the untenable position of having to subject itself to cross-examination before the Board of Pardons. It is one thing for the judge to call a case back to his court admitting to the defendant that the court erred in its disposition of the case and proceed to rectify its error. It is another matter when a defendant must rely on a sentencing judge to swallow his pride and admit to the Board of Pardons that he erred in understanding what was related to him and misinterpreted the facts.
To deny a defendant his right to have the sentencing authority reconsider its erroneous sentence and force the defendant to rely on a higher tribunal to correct an admitted injustice, not only denies him of his right to the opportunity to have the sentencing authority impose a sentence that is commensurate with the gravity of the offense from that sentencing authority’s viewpoint but also forces the defendant to take his chances with the Board of Pardons reducing his sentence as compared to a certainty of modification by the lower court.
The possible irreversible devastation to a defendant’s life dictates and demands that the sentencing court have the inherent power and authority to correct this type of error.
If a trial court has the authority to correct an improper conviction, a fortiori it has the authority to correct an improper sentence.