California Supreme Court Rules That Judges Cannot Give “Indicated” Sentences To Those Facing Criminal Charges

In an important ruling, the California Supreme Court has stated that a judge cannot make a “firm offer” to a defendant facing criminal charges. This decision is a major blow to the criminal justice system and will result in many more cases going to trial. This vital change in the justice system emphasizes the importance in hiring a California criminal defense attorney when you are accused of a crime.

The “Indicated Sentence”

In many cases the District Attorney will offer a “plea bargain” to the defense attorney. This “offer” is rejected by the accused and his/her lawyer as being too harsh. For decades when this happened the judge would often tell the defendant that if he/she pleads guilty to all the charges he would impose a “lower sentence” than the District Attorney had offered. This has lead to tens of thousands of defendants accepting the courts “indicated sentence” and avoiding the need for criminal jury trials.

However, the California Supreme Court has stated that trial court judges are not to “intervene” in the plea bargaining between the prosecution and the defense. When a criminal defense attorney is dealing with a “hard nose” prosecutor often the only way to avoid a jury trial has been to appeal to the judge for a more reasonable “offer”. Those days appear to now be over in all criminal cases in California.

The Supreme Court also ruled that if the judge were to give an “indicated sentence” that the judge is NOT bound by that “offer”. This means that at the sentencing hearing the judge will be free to ignore that offer and impose a harsher sentence based upon what the judge reads in the probation report and from testimony presented during the sentencing hearing. The Supreme Court did not address in its ruling whether the defendant would be allowed to withdraw his plea if the judge refuses to follow his/her “indicated sentence”.

It remains to be seen how this will play out on a day to day basis in the real world of criminal law. However, one thing is very clear. If prosecutors are not willing to make reasonable offers to settle, many more cases will be forced to go to jury trial. This will likely result in a massive backlog of cases. If this happens many serious criminal cases may have to be dismissed if no courtrooms can be found to try their cases within the statutory time period.

California Criminal Defense Attorney

If you are charged with a crime, call the criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich today. With over 40 years of experience successfully defending clients against weapons possession charges, we have the knowledge and skill to get you the best possible result for your case. We have offices located in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Victorville, Ventura, West Covina, Torrance, and Sherman Oaks. Call us today at 877-4-NO-JAIL or 877-466-5245. We will be there when you call.