Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

My boyfriend signed a plea bargain deal for 14 years that the DA offered. He pleaded guilty to two charges and the rest of the charges were dropped. On one charge he was given the maximum sentence and on the other charge he was given a mid-term sentence? The judge made a comment about the way the lawyers reached the numbers was illegal. He is not getting sentenced till January since he is serving time for another case and the lawyers have until then to figure out how they came up with that number. Is it illegal to sentence a high-term on one charge and a mid-term on the other charge on a plea bargain?


Asked on 11/09/10, 6:22 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Marshall Law Office of Robert L, Marshall

No, the judge may choose from the possible sentences on each charge.

For most cases where there are multiple felony sentences running consecutively, the longest sentence imposed is called the principal term. The other counts are called subordinate terms, and the defendant gets one third of the middle term on those.

Without knowing the exact charges involved, it's impossible to tell why the judge said it was an illegal sentence.

Read more
Answered on 11/14/10, 9:13 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in California