BECAUSE PROMISE IN PLEA AGREEMENT RE CREDIT FOR JAIL TIME COULD NOT BE FULFILLED, SENTENCE VACATED AND CASE REMITTED FOR A SENTENCE WHICH COMPORTS WITH DEFENDANT’S LEGITIMATE EXPECTATIONS (FOURTH DEPT).
The Fourth Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined that defendant was entitled to a sentence which comported with his expectations based upon the plea agreement. The Fourth Department vacated his sentence. It turned out defendant could not be credited with jail time in accordance with the plea agreement:
The promise with respect to jail time credit … could not be fulfilled. Penal Law § 70.30 (3) provides that “[t]he term of a definite sentence . . . imposed on a person shall be credited with and diminished by the amount of time the person spent in custody prior to the commencement of such sentence as a result of the charge that culminated in the sentence.” Such credit, however, “shall not include any time that is credited against the term . . . of any previously imposed sentence . . . to which the person is subject” … . Thus, “a person is prohibited from receiving jail time credit against a subsequent sentence when such credit has already been applied to time served on a previous sentence’ “… . The correctional facility to which defendant was committed therefore properly determined that defendant was prohibited from receiving jail time credit against his sentence on the conviction of attempted CPCS in the fourth degree for the time that he had served between sentencing on the prior conviction and the subsequent sentencing proceeding … .
It is well established that ” [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’ ” … . Where, as here, “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” … . We therefore modify the judgment by vacating the sentence, and we remit the matter to Supreme Court to impose a sentence that comports with defendant’s legitimate expectations of the negotiated plea agreement or to afford defendant an opportunity to withdraw his plea. People v Drake, 2017 NY Slip Op 07844, Fourth Dept 11-9-17
CRIMINAL LAW (SENTENCING, BECAUSE PROMISE IN PLEA AGREEMENT RE CREDIT FOR JAIL TIME COULD NOT BE FULFILLED, SENTENCE VACATED AND CASE REMITTED FOR A SENTENCE WHICH COMPORTS WITH DEFENDANT’S LEGITIMATE EXPECTATIONS (FOURTH DEPT))PLEA AGREEMENT (SENTENCING, BECAUSE PROMISE IN PLEA AGREEMENT RE CREDIT FOR JAIL TIME COULD NOT BE FULFILLED, SENTENCE VACATED AND CASE REMITTED FOR A SENTENCE WHICH COMPORTS WITH DEFENDANT’S LEGITIMATE EXPECTATIONS (FOURTH DEPT))/SENTENCING (CRIMINAL LAW, PLEA AGREEMENT, BECAUSE PROMISE IN PLEA AGREEMENT RE CREDIT FOR JAIL TIME COULD NOT BE FULFILLED, SENTENCE VACATED AND CASE REMITTED FOR A SENTENCE WHICH COMPORTS WITH DEFENDANT’S LEGITIMATE EXPECTATIONS (FOURTH DEPT))