Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: plea agreement

There are several kinds of plea agreements. Some involve charges being dismissed, some involve charges being reduced, some involve charges not being issued, some involve a promise by the prosecutor to recommend a certain sentence ... and/or any combination of these.

None of these, however, bind the judge to any sentence. The judge decides the sentence, and usually needs to see the background information in the Pre-Sentence Investigation Report, as well as the scoring of the Sentencing Guidelines in felny cases, before making that call. Prosecutors and defense attorneys cannot do "sentence agreements' unless the judge is also in the mix and agrees with that part of the deal. The judge controls the ultimate sentence, not the attorneys.

There are some instances where a judge -- based on limited background and case information provided by the defense and/or prosecutor -- will make a preliminary sentencing decision (e.g., "I will not exceed 6 months in jail"). This is done at a "Cobbs hearing" (based on People v Cobbs). If a defendant pleads guilty based on the judge's Cobbs decision ... and then the judge, at sentencing, does not follow that decision (example: decides to impose a 9 month jail term), the defendant can withdraw his/her plea. [This may be what the second attorney's "Not necessarily" answer was referring to.]

Re: plea agreement

Not necessarily

Re: plea agreement

The court, prior to accepting a plea is really only required to tell the defendant what the possible maximum sentence of a crime to which he is pleading. Beyond that, a court has pretty broad discretion in administering sentences.