UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BRANDON TATE
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Floyd, Jan. 11, 2017,
Plea Agreement – Agreeing to recommend the low-end of the “applicable” guideline did not force the government to recommend a particular guideline.

Facts: Tate agreed to plead guilty to PWID and the government agreed to “seek a sentence at the lowest end of… the applicable guideline range.”
After pleading guilty, the sentencing court applied an enhanced sentence and the government recommended the lowest end of that range. Tate appealed, claiming that the government should have recommended a lower range.
Held: Because the court decided what the “applicable guideline range” was and the government recommended a sentence at the lowest end of the range, there was no breach of the agreement regardless of what Tate expected to happen.

Plea Agreement- A plea agreement is “grounded in contract law, and both parties to a plea agreement should receive the benefit of their bargain.” However, just as with a contract “no party is obligated to provide more than is specified in the agreement itself.”