STEPHANIE L. SMITH v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Greene, June 22, 2017,
Binding Plea Agreement – A judge gives an illegal sentence when he binds himself to a plea agreement and then undercuts it, such as where he offers probation before judgment when that was not part of the binding plea

Affirming CoSA

Facts:
In 2015, Stephanie Smith was indicted in PG County for theft of property between $10,000 and $100,000. After plea negotiations, Smith agreed to plead guilty and receive a sentence of 5 years with all but 30 to 90 days suspended and 5 years of supervised probation along with $47,460.02 restitution. The plea agreement had a ceiling (maximum) of 90 days incarceration and a floor (minimum) of 30 days incarceration to be served on weekends. Home detention was specifically not allowed.
In 2016, a circuit court judge heard the case and agreed to be bound by its terms.
At sentencing, however, the judge undercut the plea agreement and offered the defendant probation before judgment with her “incarceration” to be served at home.
The state appealed to the Court of Special Appeals, arguing that the sentence was illegal in that the sentencing judge had agreed to be bound and then changed the agreement.
The Court of Special Appeals agreed with the state and vacated the sentencing court’s decision.
Smith then asked the Court of Appeals to consider the case, arguing that a reasonable person in her position would have believed probation before judgment was a possible outcome.

Held: The Court of Appeals disagreed. The plea agreement had a minimum, and probation before judgment was below that minimum.