Resentencing to a Sentence Technically Different from the Sentence Agreed to in a Plea Bargain Okay—Resentence Comported With Defendant’s Reasonable Expectations

In a full-fledged opinion by Judge Read, over a dissent, the Court of Appeals determined the defendant was properly resentenced even though the sentence imposed was technically different from the sentence agreed to in the plea bargain.  The defendant had agreed to a sentence of 25 years and five years for the two crimes, with the sentencing court retaining the option to sentence consecutively, which it did.  It turned out that the five-year sentence was illegal (it had to be a minimum of ten). The defendant was resentenced to the two crimes, but this time concurrently.  Effectively, therefore, the defendant’s original sentence was 30 years, but he was resentenced to 25:

“[A] guilty plea induced by an unfulfilled promise either must be vacated or the promise honored” … .  “The choice rests in the discretion of the sentencing court” and “there is no indicated preference for one course over the other” … .

The sentencing court may have good reason to reject a defendant’s request to withdraw his plea.  Where, as here, years have gone by since the original plea, it may be difficult for the People to locate witnesses, obtain their renewed cooperation and proceed to trial on the “then stale indictment[]” … .  Under these circumstances, allowing a defendant to withdraw his plea would give him “more than he was entitled” to under the bargain he struck … .  Thus, the People “can hold a defendant to an agreed sentence rather than allow vacation of the plea when it would otherwise be prejudiced” … .

Moreover, specific performance of a plea bargain does not foreclose “technical divergence from the precise terms of the plea agreement” so long as the defendant’s reasonable expectations are met … .  * * *

Thus, if the originally promised sentence cannot be imposed in strict compliance with the plea agreement, the sentencing court may impose another lawful sentence that comports with the defendant’s legitimate expectations.  Again, “the reasonable understanding and expectations of the parties, rather than technical distinctions in semantics, control the question of whether a particular sentence imposed violates a plea agreement”… .  People v Collier, 228, CtApp 12-12-13