holding that a defendant who agrees to a sentencing range or a sentencing cap in a plea agreement does not waive the right to challenge the appropriateness of his or her sentence on appeal
How later courts described this case
- holding that a defendant who agrees to a sentencing range or a sentencing cap in a plea agreement does not waive the right to challenge the appropriateness of his or her sentence on appeal
- opining that the burden is on the defendant to persuade us that his sentence is inappropriate
- concluding that it is the defendant’s burden to persuade the court that his sentence is inappropriate
- advisory sentence is "the starting point the Legislature has selected as an appropriate sentence for the crime committed."
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
DICKSON, Justice,
concurring.
I agree with the Court’s decision today, rejecting the claim that a defendant, by entering into a plea agreement providing that the length of sentence is limited to a maximum cap or sentencing range, has waived or automatically acquiesced in the reasonableness of a sentencing that complies with the plea agreement. Such a plea agreement is not an absolute barrier to this Court’s exercise of its authority granted by Article 7, Section 4 of the Indiana Constitution to “review and revise the sentence imposed,” nor does it necessarily preclude a claim for appellate sentence review under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B).
I write separately, however, to emphasize my view that our decision today does not hold that a defendant’s acceptance of a plea agreement is wholly without significance or that it must be altogether disregarded. A defendant’s conscious choice to enter a plea agreement that limits the trial court’s discretion to a sentence less than the statutory maximum should usually be understood as strong and persuasive evidence of sentence reasonableness and appropriateness. In my view, today’s opinion permits courts considering future claims for appellate sentence review following such plea agreements to grant relief only in the most rare, exceptional cases.