stating that, unless specified in the plea agreement, the government is not required to “enthusiastically” commit itself to its obligations under the plea agreement because Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 “speaks in terms of what the parties in fact agree to, and does not suggest that such implied-in-law terms [be] read into [a plea] agreement”
How later courts described this case
- stating that, unless specified in the plea agreement, the government is not required to “enthusiastically” commit itself to its obligations under the plea agreement because Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 “speaks in terms of what the parties in fact agree to, and does not suggest that such implied-in-law terms [be] read into [a plea] agreement”
- noting the government’s “suggest[ion] that spreading on the record its reasons for agreement to a plea bargain in a particular case—for example, that it did not wish to devote scarce 13 resources to a trial . . . would frequently harm, rather than help, the defendant’s quest for leniency”
- reversing the appellate court’s decision finding that the government had breached its plea agreement to recommend a specific sentence by failing to do so with adequate “enthusiasm” when it made the appropriate recommendation without expressing any reservations
- holding the prosecutor is not obligated to “enthusiastically” recommend the sentence set forth in the agreement
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Justice Brennan,
with whom Justice Marshall joins,
dissenting.
The Court today continues its unsettling practice of summarily reversing decisions rendered in favor of criminal defendants, based not on broad principle but on idiosyncratic *458 facts and without full briefing or oral argument. See, e. g., United States v. Gagnon, 470 U. S. 522, 530-531 (1985) (Brennan, J., dissenting); Florida v. Meyers, 466 U. S. 380, 383 (1984) (Stevens, J., dissenting); Wyrick v. Fields, 459 U. S. 42, 50 (1982) (Marshall, J., dissenting). Because I find this one-sided practice of summary error correction * inappropriate, I would vote merely to deny this petition for certiorari. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
There have been summary reversals in 27 noncapital cases involving criminal convictions over the last four Terms. Twenty-four of these favored the warden or the prosecutor. See ante, at 456-457; United States v. Gagnon, 470 U. S. 522 (1985) (per curiam); United States v. Woodward 469 U. S. 105 (1985) (per curiam); Florida v. Rodriguez, 469 U. S. 1 (1984) (per curiam); Massachusetts v. Upton, 466 U. S. 727 (1984) (per curiam); Florida v. Meyers, 466 U. S. 380, 386 , and n. 3 (1984) (per curiam) (Stevens, J., dissenting) (collecting cases).