JOSEPH A. CARLINI v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, Moylan, Filed Dec. 18, 2013,
Illegal Sentence- Where defendant agreed to restitution in a written plea agreement, imposition of restitution was not illegal where it was not expressed orally

Judge Moylan lays out a comprehensive overview of Rule 4-345(a) and examines what an “Illegal Sentence” is and is not.

Rule 4-345 states simply: “(a) Illegal sentence. The court may correct an illegal sentence at any time.”

As explained by the CoSA:
– The rule setting forth the motion to correct an illegal sentence originated some time between the Magna Carta and 1962
– An illegal sentence may be corrected at any time without regard to waiver
– Can only modify sentence; the underlying conviction itself is not in jeopardy.
– “The illegality must actually inhere in the sentence itself and must not be a procedural illegality or trial error antecedent to the imposition of sentence.”
– EXCEPTION: Plea Bargain- “when the trial judge accepts a plea agreement entered into by a defendant and the State and agrees to be bound by its terms, any sentence then imposed in excess of the sentencing cap thus agreed upon is an illegal sentence”
– A Rule 4-345(a) hearing does not ordinarily require any factfinding (unless there is an issue as to the boundaries of a plea agreement)

Standard 4-345(a) Examples:
– A Sentence That Exceeds the Sentencing Cap
– A Sentence That Should Never Have Been Imposed (After acquittal, restitution on an NCR, verdict not announced, convicted under inapplicable statute, restitution for other than victim)

Examples of things that do not fall under 4-345(a):
– Restitution imposed without factual basis and request by victim
– Judge did not exercise discretion
– Motivation of judge (prejudice, ill will)
– Conduct of parole commission (changing life to life without parole)

In dicta, the CoSA suggests that restitution is a condition of probation, and as such need not be explicitly mentioned