State v. Pieri

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

Opinion Number: 2009-NMSC-019

Filing Date: April 23, 2009

Docket No. 31,119

STATE OF NEW MEXICO,

Plaintiff-Petitioner,

v.

MARYLYN PIERI,

Defendant-Respondent.

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING ON CERTIORARI
Stephen Bridgforth, District Judge

Gary K. King, Attorney General
James W. Grayson, Assistant Attorney General
Albuquerque, NM

for Petitioner

Hugh W. Dangler, Chief Public Defender
Karl Erich Martell, Assistant Appellate Defender
Santa Fe, NM

for Respondent

OPINION

CHÁVEZ, Chief Justice.

{1} In Eller v. State, 92 N.M. 52, 582 P.2d 824 (1978), a three-member majority of this
Court held that when a trial court rejects a sentencing recommendation in a plea agreement,
it must give the defendant an opportunity to withdraw his or her plea pursuant to former New

1
Mexico Rule of Criminal Procedure 21(g)(4), the predecessor to Rule 5-304(D) NMRA.1
Because the authority we relied upon to support our conclusion in Eller has changed and
because the weight of authority in other jurisdictions is contrary to Eller’s holding, we
conclude that Eller must be overruled. We hold that a court is not required to afford a
defendant the opportunity to withdraw his or her plea when it rejects a sentencing
recommendation or a defendant’s unopposed sentencing request, so long as the defendant
has been informed that the sentencing recommendation or request is not binding upon the
court. However, if the defendant and the State have bargained for a specific sentence and
the court rejects the specific sentence, the court must give the defendant an opportunity to
withdraw his or her plea agreement.

I. BACKGROUND

{2} In a written plea agreement, Defendant Marylyn Pieri pled no contest to one count
of failure to report child abuse or neglect, a misdemeanor, and one count of negligently
permitting child abuse not resulting in death or great bodily harm, a third degree felony, in
exchange for the dismissal of one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a
fourth degree felony. The written agreement set out the maximum sentences for these two
crimes and also provided that “[t]here are no agreements as to sentencing.” At a change of
plea hearing, however, Defendant informed the district court that the State had further agreed
not to oppose Defendant’s request for a suspended sentence on the condition that she give
a truthful statement to the District Attorney’s office and testify truthfully in the State’s case
against her husband. In response, the district court asked Defendant if she understood “that
the agreements the attorneys make, certainly those agreements that might discuss the form
of sentence the Court is to enter, are matters that the Court seriously considers, but that they
are not binding on the Court[.]” Defendant responded, “Yes, sir.” The district court then
accepted Defendant’s plea and subsequently set a sentencing hearing.

{3} Defendant was never provided the opportunity to testify against her husband because
the district court denied the parties’ second joint motion to continue the sentencing hearing
until after her husband went to trial. As a result, during the sentencing hearing, the State

1
Because former Rule of Criminal Procedure 21(g)(4) is identical in material respects
to Rule 5-304(D) NMRA, we refer to Rule 5-304(D) throughout this opinion. Rule 5-304(D)
states:

If the court rejects the plea agreement, the court shall inform the parties of
this fact, advise the defendant personally in open court that the court is not
bound by the plea agreement, afford either party the opportunity to withdraw
the agreement and advise the defendant that if the defendant persists in a
guilty plea, plea of no contest or guilty but mentally ill the disposition of the
case may be less favorable to the defendant than that contemplated by the
plea agreement.

2
asserted that it was not bound by its agreement not to oppose Defendant’s request for a
suspended sentence because Defendant had not satisfied the conditions of their agreement.
Defendant argued that the State should be bound by its agreement and could not oppose her
request for a suspended sentence. The State nonetheless asked the district court to “send
[Defendant] to prison for a period of time and then . . . put her on probation for a period of
time.” Defendant again objected, arguing that she was entitled to specific performance of
the plea agreement under Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (1971). The district court
concluded that “the State is bound by the representation [it] made at the change of plea.”
However, noting that “this is a particularly egregious case of failing to protect this child[,]”
the court imposed the maximum sentences for the two charges, running them consecutively
without suspending any portion of either sentence.

{4} Defendant appealed to the Court of Appeals, which reversed and remanded the case
to the district court “with instructions to either (1) resentence Defendant in conformity with
the plea agreement or (2) provide Defendant with an opportunity to withdraw her plea.”
State v. Pieri, No. 27,016, mem. op. at 10 (N.M. Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2008). The Court of
Appeals concluded that the district court had accepted the plea agreement to include the
State’s promise not to oppose Defendant’s request for a suspended sentence. Id. at 6. It
further concluded that “the trial court’s later failure to abide by that implicit recommendation
[for a suspended sentence] was tantamount to a rejection of the plea agreement.” Id.
Therefore, the Court of Appeals held that once the court rejected the State’s implicit
recommendation for a suspended sentence, it was required to afford Defendant the
opportunity to withdraw her plea under Eller. Id. at 6-7. By so holding, the Court of
Appeals expanded Eller to situations where the State had only agreed not to oppose a
defendant’s sentencing request.

{5} The State petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari, asking us to determine (1)
whether Eller applies to Defendant’s case, and (2) if it does, whether Eller should be
overruled. We granted the State’s petition. State v. Pieri, 2008-NMCERT-006, 144 N.M.
381, 188 P.3d 105. We reverse the Court of Appeals’ expansion of Eller. We hold,
however, that under Santobello Defendant should have been given the opportunity to
withdraw her plea or receive specific performance of the plea agreement and, therefore,
remand to the district court to afford Defendant this opportunity. Finally, we accept the
State’s invitation to revisit Eller and conclude that it should be overruled. We hereby refer
this matter to the appropriate rules committees to recommend changes to our Rules of
Criminal Procedure for the district, magistrate, metropolitan, and municipal courts consistent
with this opinion.

II. DISCUSSION

A. DEFENDANT’S APPEAL IS NOT MOOT

{6} On appeal to this Court, Defendant argues that we should quash certiorari and
dismiss this appeal because her case is moot. She contends that because she has served her

3
entire period of incarceration and has been released, an appellate ruling requiring the district
court to offer her the chance to withdraw her plea would not provide her with any relief, no
controversy exists, and therefore the case is moot. The State urges us to deny Defendant’s
motion, arguing that Defendant remains on parole and that the collateral consequences of
Defendant’s felony conviction do not render this case moot.

{7} Notwithstanding the validity of the State’s arguments, see, e.g., State v. Sergio B.,
2002-NMCA-070, ¶ 10, 132 N.M. 375, 48 P.3d 764, the fundamental flaw in Defendant’s
argument is that the State itself is entitled to seek relief from the Court of Appeals’ opinion.
“A case is moot when no actual controversy exists, and the court cannot grant actual relief.”
Gunaji v. Macias, 2001-NMSC-028, ¶ 9, 130 N.M. 734, 31 P.3d 1008 (internal quotation
marks and citations omitted). The State has petitioned this Court to reverse the Court of
Appeals and prevent Defendant from either withdrawing her plea or being resentenced.
Because we may grant the State the relief it requests, an actual controversy exists and the
case is not moot. See, e.g., United States v. Suleiman, 208 F.3d 32, 38 (2d Cir. 2000)
(holding that the case was not moot because it was possible that the court could grant relief
to the government); State v. Jordan, 1998 ME 174, ¶ 13, 716 A.2d 1004, 1007 (“If the
defendant has an interest in avoiding the collateral consequences of a conviction, then the
State has an equally compelling interest in securing a conviction to effect those
consequences.”).

{8} In addition to asking us to dismiss her case as moot, Defendant asks this Court to
allow her to withdraw her appeal and to vacate the Court of Appeals’ memorandum opinion.
We understand Defendant to be asking us to treat this matter as though she had never filed
an appeal—to revoke the relief she would otherwise be granted by the Court of Appeals’
opinion and affirm the district court’s convictions. At this stage in the proceedings, we are
reluctant to grant Defendant’s request. Defendant did not move to withdraw her appeal in
either the district court or the Court of Appeals, moving instead to dismiss her appeal for the
first time in this Court. If she had timely moved to withdraw her appeal in the lower courts,
either court could have properly considered that motion. See Rule 12-401 NMRA; NMSA
1978, § 39-3-14 (1851-52). However, this matter is now before us on the State’s petition for
a writ of certiorari, and Defendant cannot now deprive the State of our review of the Court
of Appeals’ opinion. Therefore, Defendant’s motion is untimely and is denied.

B. ELLER IS NOT APPLICABLE TO CASES WHERE THE COURT IGNORES
A DEFENDANT’S UNOPPOSED SENTENCING REQUEST

{9} At the sentencing hearing, Defendant argued that she should be entitled to specific
performance of the plea agreement under Santobello because the State had breached its
promise not to oppose her request for a suspended sentence. Her request was denied, and
she appealed. On direct appeal, the Court of Appeals raised the Eller issue sua sponte and
asked for supplemental briefing on the application of Eller, Rule 5-304, and State v.
Bencomo, 109 N.M. 724, 790 P.2d 521 (Ct. App. 1990), to Defendant’s case. After the
parties briefed these additional issues, the Court of Appeals concluded that Eller should be

4
expanded to allow Defendant the opportunity to withdraw her plea. Pieri, No. 27,016, mem
op. at 6-7. We disagree that Eller is applicable to Defendant’s case.

{10} In Eller, this Court held that when a trial court rejects the State’s sentencing
recommendation, it must give the defendant an opportunity to withdraw his or her plea under
Rule 5-304(D). 92 N.M. at 54, 582 P.2d at 826. In Eller, the State agreed to recommend a
sentence and fulfilled its promise to the defendant when it in fact made the recommendation
it had agreed to make. Importantly, Eller does not describe what remedies are available to
a defendant when the State does not perform as promised under the plea agreement. When
the State fails to fulfill the promises it makes as part of a plea agreement, the rule in
Santobello dictates the result. Defendant correctly argued the application of Santobello to
her case, and we decline to extend Eller in order to achieve the same result.

{11} Furthermore, there is a significant difference between a plea agreement where the
State agrees to make an affirmative sentencing recommendation and one where the State
simply agrees to leave the matter of sentencing to the discretion of the judge by not opposing
Defendant’s request. In the former situation, the State informs the court of what it believes
is an appropriate sentence in light of the facts and circumstances of a particular case. In the
latter situation, the State has agreed to make no recommendation whatsoever. Thus, the only
recommendation the court can be said to have rejected is that of the defendant.

{12} In Defendant’s case, the Court of Appeals held that the State’s promise not to oppose
Defendant’s request for a suspended sentence was an “implicit recommendation” for that
sentence disposition. We disagree. Not all sentence concessions are recommendations.
People v. Dawson, 89 P.3d 447, 450 (Colo. Ct. App. 2003). The issue in Dawson was
whether the State’s agreement not to recommend an aggravated sentence was the equivalent
of a sentence recommendation for the purposes of People v. Wright, 573 P.2d 551 (Colo.
1978), which, like Eller, held that “a defendant must be given the opportunity to withdraw
a guilty plea when the trial court elects not to follow the prosecution’s sentence
recommendation.” 89 P.3d at 450. Dawson held that because “[t]he prosecutor made no
affirmative recommendation of any sentence favorable to defendant[,]” Wright was
inapplicable. Id. Hence, the defendant was not entitled to withdraw his plea simply because
the court had imposed an aggravated sentence when the State had not recommended one.
Id. Like Dawson, the plea agreement in Defendant’s case included the State’s promise not
to recommend a particular sentence, and therefore Defendant should not be allowed to
withdraw her plea because she received a sentence that the State did not recommend.

{13} We note that this Court relied on Wright in deciding Eller. 92 N.M. at 54, 582 P.2d
at 826. We find the Dawson court’s refusal to extend Wright to situations where the
prosecution has not made an affirmative recommendation for a favorable sentence
particularly persuasive. We therefore reverse the Court of Appeals’ expansion of Eller and
hold that Rule 5-304(D) does not obligate the court to give a defendant the opportunity to
withdraw his or her plea when the State has not opposed the defendant’s request for a
sentence or has remained silent with respect to the sentencing disposition.

5
C. DEFENDANT MUST BE OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO WITHDRAW
HER PLEA OR BE RESENTENCED BY ANOTHER JUDGE

{14} In spite of our conclusion that Eller provides Defendant no relief, we conclude that
Santobello demands she be afforded an opportunity to withdraw her plea or be resentenced
by another judge. In Santobello the State of New York indicted the defendant on two felony
gambling charges. 404 U.S. at 258. The defendant agreed to plead guilty to a lesser offense,
and the prosecution agreed to make no recommendation regarding the sentence. Id. at 258.
The court accepted that plea. Id. Due to a series of delays, a second prosecutor represented
the State at the sentencing hearing and, apparently unaware of his colleague’s promise,
recommended the maximum sentence for the lesser offense. Id. at 259. The defendant
objected. Id. The trial judge stated that he was “not at all influenced by what the [d]istrict
[a]ttorney sa[id],” concluded that the defendant was a “professional criminal,” and sentenced
him to the maximum sentence for the offense. Id. at 259-60.

{15} The United States Supreme Court reversed and held that the defendant did not
receive the benefit of his plea bargain because the State affirmatively recommended
imprisonment when it had previously promised to make no recommendation at all. Id. at
262. The Court reasoned, “when a plea rests in any significant degree on a promise or
agreement of the prosecutor, so that it can be said to be part of the inducement or
consideration, such promise must be fulfilled.” Id. By denying the defendant the benefit of
his bargain, the State had not given him the process that was “reasonably due in the
circumstances.” Id. The Court then remanded to the state court to determine whether the
defendant should be afforded an opportunity to withdraw his plea or be re-sentenced by a
different judge, with the State fulfilling its promise to remain silent during sentencing. Id.
at 262-63.

{16} This is a Santobello case. The district court accepted Defendant’s plea agreement
as including the State’s promise not to oppose her request for a suspended sentence on the
conditions that she provide a truthful statement to the prosecution in the matter against her
husband and testify truthfully in that case. The court implicitly found that those conditions
had been satisfied when it held the State to its promise not to oppose Defendant’s request for
a suspended sentence. Thus, under Santobello, when the State opposed the suspended
sentence, Defendant should have either been resentenced in front of a different judge or have
been allowed to withdraw her plea.

{17} On appeal, the State does not argue that Defendant failed to satisfy the conditions
necessary to bind the State to its promise not to oppose her request for a suspended sentence.
Rather, it argues that Defendant cannot raise this issue as fundamental error because she did
not move to withdraw her plea in the district court. We disagree and are not persuaded that
a fundamental error analysis is appropriate in Defendant’s case. Defendant’s objection on
Santobello grounds was sufficient to alert the court that she should either be afforded
specific performance of the plea agreement or be allowed to withdraw her plea. See
Santobello, 404 U.S. at 263 (remanding to determine whether the defendant should be

6
resentenced by a different judge or allowed to withdraw his plea). Here, Defendant objected
on Santobello grounds both before and after the State recommended a term of imprisonment
contrary to its promise. These two objections had the effect of alerting the sentencing court
to the Santobello problem. Although it would have been clearer had Defendant requested
the relief she desired under Santobello, these timely objections were sufficient to fairly
invoke a ruling from the trial court on this issue. See Rule 12-216(A) NMRA (“To preserve
a question for review it must appear that a ruling or decision by the district court was fairly
invoked . . . .”). Therefore, the State’s fundamental error analysis is unnecessary.

{18} Finally, with respect to Santobello, we note that the sentencing judge held the State
to its promise and sentenced Defendant as though the State had not in fact recommended
imprisonment in violation of the plea agreement. We have no reason to doubt that the judge
fairly exercised his discretion in sentencing Defendant to the maximum sentences for the
crimes charged. However, it is not the judge’s fairness that is at issue. Rather, it is the
propriety of the State’s recommendations in light of its previous promise not to oppose
Defendant’s request for a suspended sentence. See Santobello, 404 U.S. at 263 (emphasizing
that its holding “is in no sense to question the fairness of the sentencing judge; the fault here
rests on the prosecutor, not on the sentencing judge”). The State argued for a term of
imprisonment and gave reasons for its request. The bell had been rung. Because the State
breached its promise not to oppose Defendant’s request for a suspended sentence, Santobello
requires reversal, despite the judge’s discretion to sentence Defendant in accordance with
the offenses charged.

D. ELLER IS OVERRULED

{19} Despite our conclusion that Eller would not control the outcome in Defendant’s case,
we accept the State’s invitation to overrule Eller and amend our Rules of Criminal
Procedure. We have the ultimate authority to fashion, adopt, and amend rules of procedure
by virtue of the authority granted to this Court in Article III, Section 1 and Article VI,
Section 3 of the New Mexico Constitution. Ammerman v. Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., 89
N.M. 307, 310-11, 551 P.2d 1354, 1357-58 (1976). Therefore, because Eller had the effect
of modifying Rule 5-304(D), we may properly address its continued validity.

{20} The issue this Court addressed in Eller was whether the district court’s “rejection of
a sentencing recommendation contained in a plea agreement amounts to a rejection of a plea
agreement under [Rule 5-304(D)].” 92 N.M. at 53, 582 P.2d at 825. To resolve this issue,
we had to construe the meaning of the term “plea agreement” as used in Rule 5-304(D)
because “[i]f the trial court rejects the ‘plea agreement’ the defendant must be given an
opportunity to withdraw his plea.” Id.; see also Rule 5-304(D) (“If the court rejects the plea
agreement, the court shall . . . afford either party the opportunity to withdraw the agreement
. . . .”). Our focus in Eller, then, was what Rule 5-304(D) of our Rules of Criminal
Procedure required, and we held that “the trial court’s refusal to follow the sentencing
recommendations of the district attorney constitutes a rejection of the plea agreement[.]” 92
N.M. at 54, 582 P.2d at 826. Thus, Eller interpreted, explained, and modified Rule 5-

7
304(D), one of our Rules of Criminal Procedure. Therefore, because we have the ultimate
authority to modify our procedural rules, we may change Rule 5-304(D) and overrule those
cases that interpret and explain it.

{21} Even when modifying our own procedural rules, however, we are mindful of the
principles of stare decisis and take care to overrule established precedent only when the
circumstances require it. Before overruling a prior case, we must consider several issues:

1) whether the precedent is so unworkable as to be intolerable; 2) whether
parties justifiably relied on the precedent so that reversing it would create an
undue hardship; 3) whether the principles of law have developed to such an
extent as to leave the old rule no more than a remnant of abandoned doctrine;
and 4) whether the facts have changed in the interval from the old rule to
reconsideration so as to have robbed the old rule of justification.

Padilla v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2003-NMSC-011, ¶ 7, 133 N.M. 661, 68 P.3d 901
(internal quotation marks and citations omitted); accord State v. Martinez, 2006-NMSC-007,
¶ 28, 139 N.M. 152, 130 P.3d 731. “[W]hen one of the aforementioned circumstances
convincingly demonstrates that a past decision is wrong, the Court has not hesitated to
overrule even recent precedent.” Padilla, 2003-NMSC-011, ¶ 7 (internal quotation marks
and citation omitted). Because the authority on which we relied to support our conclusion
in Eller has changed and is contrary to the weight of authority in other jurisdictions, we
conclude that Eller is unworkable and must be overruled. In its place, we hold that the trial
court is not required to afford a defendant the opportunity to withdraw his or her plea when
it rejects a sentencing recommendation or a defendant’s unopposed sentencing request, as
long as the defendant has been informed that the sentencing recommendation or request is
not binding upon the court.

{22} At the outset of our analysis, we note that Eller was not a unanimous opinion. “It
was a 3-2 decision of the New Mexico Supreme Court, reversing a 2-1 decision of [the Court
of Appeals].” State v. Bencomo, 109 N.M. 724, 726, 790 P.2d 521, 523 (Ct. App. 1990).
It was also “a clear departure from the case law established by the Court of Appeals in [State
v.] Ramos[, 85 N.M. 438, 512 P.2d 1274 (Ct. App. 1973)] and [State v.] McClarron[, 85
N.M. 442, 512 P.2d 1278 (Ct. App. 1973)].”2 Linda Davison, Eller v. State: Plea
Bargaining in New Mexico, 9 N.M. L. Rev. 167, 171 (Winter 1978-79). This divergence of
opinion in Eller suggests that its holding was on a less-than-firm footing when it was
announced. With this in mind, we consider whether the authority on which Eller relied
remains in force.

2
Both Ramos and McClarron were themselves split opinions of the same panel of the
Court of Appeals. Although Eller did not expressly overrule these two cases, its holding
clearly stands in direct conflict with their outcomes.

8
 1. The Authority Relied Upon to Support the Conclusion in Eller Has
Changed

{23} The Eller Court relied in part on ABA standards that have since changed. See 92
N.M. at 54, 582 P.2d at 826 (quoting the Supreme Court of Colorado in People v. Wright,
573 P.2d 551, 553 (1978) (en banc), which quoted the commentary from the ABA Standards
Relating to the Functions of the Trial Judge, § 34.1(c)). This former standard stated that
when the district court rejects the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation, the
voluntariness of the plea is called into question because “there nevertheless remains at least
the taint of false inducement.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In other
words, even if the prosecution only promised to recommend a lighter sentence to the
sentencing court, it could not be considered voluntary if the defendant believed he or she had
bargained for a specific sentence that was not imposed. Thus, under the former ABA
standards, the defendant must be given the right to withdraw his or her plea when a
sentencing recommendation is not followed by the court. However, the ABA has since
changed course, and its standards now only allow for the withdrawal of a plea in limited
situations.

{24} Current ABA standards do not allow a defendant to withdraw his or her plea simply
because the court did not follow the State’s sentencing recommendation. Instead, in such
situations, current ABA standards allow the defendant to withdraw his or her plea when:

[1] the defendant did not receive the charge or sentence concessions
contemplated by the plea agreement and the prosecuting attorney failed to
seek or not to oppose these concessions as promised in the plea agreement;
or

[2] the defendant did not receive the charge or sentence concessions
contemplated by the plea agreement, which was either tentatively or fully
concurred in by the court, and the defendant did not affirm the plea after
being advised that the court no longer concurred and after being called upon
to either affirm or withdraw the plea; or

[3] the guilty plea was entered upon the express condition, approved
by the judge, that the plea could be withdrawn if the charge or sentence
concessions were subsequently rejected by the court.

ABA Standards for Criminal Justice § 14-2.1(b)(i)(D)-(F) (3d ed. 1997); see also id. at § 14-
3.3(e) (3d ed. 1999) (same standards as numbers 2 and 3 above). In addition, current ABA
standards also allow a defendant to withdraw his or her offer to plead guilty or no contest in
exchange for specific charge or sentence concessions if the court determines “that the final
disposition should not include the charge or sentence concessions contemplated by the plea
agreement[.]” Id. at § 14-3.3(e). Thus, the ABA no longer adheres to the principle that a
plea agreement is rejected if the sentencing recommendation is not followed. Indeed, the

9
phrase “taint of false inducement” relied upon in Eller, 92 N.M. at 54, 582 P.2d at 826
(internal quotation marks and citation omitted), has been deleted from the ABA standards
relating to plea agreements altogether.

{25} The ABA standards now follow the general rule that a defendant who has bargained
for the recommendation of a specific sentence or a lighter sentence receives the benefit of
his or her bargain when the prosecution fulfills that promise and makes its recommendation
to the court.

Where the plea has already been entered, . . . Standard 14-3.3(e)
[responsibilities of the judge regarding the withdrawal of pleas] does not
automatically permit its withdrawal simply because requested charge or
sentence concessions are not received. If, for example, a plea is entered and
the prosecutor recommends that the defendant receive a two-year sentence
but the court rejects that recommendation, there is no justification for
allowing withdrawal of the plea if no promise was made by the judge that
this sentence would be received. In these circumstances, the plea agreement
is fully discharged by the prosecutorial recommendation of a two-year
sentence.

ABA Standards for Criminal Justice, § 14-3.3(e) (1999) cmt. Where the defendant has
bargained for a sentence recommendation and the prosecution in fact made the
recommendation, he or she received what was bargained for. Therefore, the plea agreement
was voluntarily made and the opportunity to withdraw it is no longer required.

{26} In addition to relying on ABA standards that have since changed, the Eller Court also
relied upon the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Santobello for the proposition that
“[t]he sentencing disposition is an integral part of the [plea] agreement and bears directly
upon whether the plea is voluntary.” Eller, 92 N.M. at 54, 582 P.2d at 826. Like the ABA
standards relied upon in Eller, the Supreme Court’s decision in Santobello has evolved in
the thirty years since Eller was decided and, in hindsight, this Court’s reliance on it was
misplaced.

{27} As explained above, Santobello addressed only the specific issue of whether the State
could renege on the promises it made to a defendant as part of the plea agreement. It did not
specifically address the issue before the Court in Eller: whether a defendant should be able
to withdraw his or her plea if the court rejects the State’s sentencing recommendation.
Santobello held that the State had breached its contract such that the defendant was not given
the process that was “reasonably due in the circumstances.” 404 U.S. at 262. The majority
in Eller apparently seized on this due process language and cited Santobello for the
proposition that “[t]he sentencing disposition is an integral part of the agreement and bears
directly upon whether the plea is voluntary.” 92 N.M. at 54, 582 P.2d at 826. Thus, it
appears that the Eller Court understood Santobello to mean that due process requires that a
defendant be afforded the opportunity to withdraw his or her plea if a sentencing

10
recommendation is not followed by the court. In the decades since Santobello was decided,
however, it has become clear that Santobello does not stand for such a proposition.

{28} It is now clear that Santobello only requires that the State fulfill the promises it
makes in plea agreements. As one notable authority writes on the subject of such broken
promises:

One kind of promise is a commitment by the prosecutor that he [or
she] will recommend or at least not oppose a particular sentence sought by
the defendant. If the prosecutor does recommend or not oppose that sentence
but the judge imposes a more severe sentence, is the defendant entitled to
relief under the Santobello rule? Unquestionably the answer is no; there is
no broken bargain in such circumstances, for the promise to seek or not
oppose the lesser sentence has been kept, and there was no promise that such
sentence would actually be imposed.

5 Wayne R. LaFave et al., Criminal Procedure § 21.2(d) at 605 (3d ed. 2007) (footnote
omitted). Thus, the authorities relied upon in Eller—the ABA standards and
Santobello—may no longer be read to support its conclusion. Because Eller was
controversial when it was decided and because of the erosion of the foundation upon which
it stands, we are compelled to conclude that it no longer remains viable today and should be
overruled.

2. The Weight of Authority in Other Jurisdictions Is Contrary to Eller’s
Holding

{29} Our decision to overrule Eller is also supported by the weight of authority from other
jurisdictions, which provides that a defendant is not entitled to withdraw his or her plea when
the district court rejects a sentencing recommendation as long as the defendant has been
made aware that the sentencing judge is not required to follow the State’s recommendations.
See, e.g., State v. Darling, 506 P.2d 1042, 1044-45 (Ariz. 1973) (in banc); Goins v. State,
672 So. 2d 30, 31 (Fla. 1996); State v. Kingston, 828 P.2d 908, 910 (Idaho Ct. App. 1992);
Martin v. State, 635 So. 2d 1352, 1355 (Miss. 1994); State v. Martz, 760 P.2d 65, 70 (Mont.
1988); State v. Griger, 208 N.W.2d 672, 674-75 (Neb. 1973); State v. Hanson, 627 P.2d 53,
55 (Utah 1981). But see, e.g., State v. Goodrich, 363 A.2d 425, 426 (N.H. 1976); Wright,
573 P.2d at 552-53. We agree with these jurisdictions and hold that if the court rejects a
sentence recommendation or a defendant’s unopposed sentencing request, and the defendant
was aware that the court was not bound by those recommendations or requests, the court
need not afford the defendant the opportunity to withdraw his or her plea.

{30} Overruling Eller and holding as we do in this case promotes transparency in the plea
process. There are two basic types of bargained-for sentencing dispositions in plea
agreements: (1) an agreement to plead guilty or no contest in exchange for a specific,
guaranteed sentence and (2) an agreement where the State promises to recommend a

11
particular sentence or not to oppose the defendant’s request for a specific sentence. See Fed.
R. Crim. P. 11(c)(1)(B)-(C). The distinction between these two agreements is critical
because, as we hold in this opinion, the type of plea agreement dictates whether the court is
bound to impose the sentence disposition contained in the plea. Under the former, the court
must impose the sentence if it has accepted a plea agreement that states the defendant will
plead guilty or no contest in exchange for a specific sentence. See id. at 11(c)(1)(C). Under
the latter agreement, the court is not bound by the sentencing recommendations or requests
of the parties; it is the court’s responsibility to impose the sentence. See id. at 11(c)(1)(B);
see also State v. Taylor, 107 N.M. 66, 72, 752 P.2d 781, 787 (1988) (noting that, with
respect to sentencing recommendations, the trial court “retain[s] the right to accept or reject
the plea bargain and make an independent decision regarding the appropriate sentence”),
overruled on other grounds by Gallegos v. Citizens Ins. Agency, 108 N.M. 722, 731, 779
P.2d 99, 108 (1989).

{31} Eller confused these basic principles with respect to sentencing recommendations
and requests. It is clear that, under Eller, courts were not required to follow the sentencing
recommendations of prosecuting attorneys. However, Eller also mandated that the court
give the defendant the chance to withdraw the plea if the recommendation was rejected.
These potential alternatives have undoubtedly confused defendants since Eller became law.
By instructing the defendant that the sentence recommendation is not binding on the court,
while simultaneously allowing the defendant to withdraw his or her plea as a matter of right
if that recommendation is not followed, it is impossible to know what the defendant believed
he or she had bargained for during the plea process.

{32} In overruling Eller, we increase the likelihood that defendants will understand the
terms of their plea agreements with respect to sentence recommendations or unopposed
sentencing requests. In requiring that the defendant be made aware that the court is not
bound by the parties’ recommendations and requests, we allow the defendant to negotiate
plea agreements with full knowledge of what the result of the bargain will be. Thus, our
holding will make plea negotiations more transparent and will improve the likelihood that
defendants are entering into plea agreements knowingly and voluntarily.

{33} Therefore, we overrule Eller and in its place state the following rule: if a court
rejects a sentencing recommendation or ignores an unopposed sentencing request, the court
need not afford the defendant an opportunity to withdraw the plea, as long as the defendant
has been made aware that such recommendations and requests are not binding on the court.
We adhere to the requirement of Rule 5-304(D) that if the court accepts a defendant’s plea
in exchange for a guaranteed, specific sentence and that sentence is not imposed, the court
must give the defendant an opportunity to withdraw his or her plea. Our holdings do not
affect a defendant’s rights under Santobello, and it remains the law that “when a plea rests
in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor, so that it can be said
to be part of the inducement or consideration, such promise must be fulfilled.” 404 U.S. at
262. Finally, we refer this matter to the committees for Rules of Criminal Procedure in the
district, magistrate, metropolitan, and municipal courts with instructions to review and

12
amend affected rules and forms to require the court to inquire whether the defendant knows
that sentencing recommendations and unopposed sentencing requests are not binding on the
court.

E. OUR RULING APPLIES TO ALL CASES WHERE THE DEFENDANT HAS
NOT YET ENTERED INTO A PLEA AGREEMENT

{34} We apply our holding prospectively with one limited exception: our holding also
applies to all currently pending cases in which the defendant has not entered into a plea
agreement. Defendants who have already entered into plea agreements will be subject to the
rule in Eller. We recognize that this limited exception to an otherwise purely prospective
application of our holding has the effect of changing a rule of procedure in pending cases,
and we note that this Court has applied Article IV, Section 34 of the New Mexico
Constitution to limit the retroactive application of amendments to our rules. See Marquez
v. Wylie, 78 N.M. 544, 545-46, 434 P.2d 69, 70-71 (1967). However, Article IV, Section 34
is inapplicable.

{35} Section 34 provides that “[n]o act of the legislature shall affect the right or remedy
of either party, or change the rules of evidence or procedure, in any pending case.” N.M.
Const. art. IV, § 34 (emphasis added). In Marquez, the Court accepted the broad view that
Section 34 also applies to rules promulgated by the Court. 78 N.M. at 546, 434 P.2d at 71.
In so holding, this Court relied partly on language from two Supreme Court orders giving
the rules adopted in those orders the same effect as if they had been passed by the
Legislature. Id. The plain language of Section 34 applies to legislative acts only, and while
this Court may choose to give its rules the force and effect of legislative acts, we have not
done so in this case. In the absence of some affirmative act by this Court, similar to what
occurred in Marquez, Section 34 does not apply to rules promulgated by this Court.
Therefore, we apply our holding prospectively with the limited retroactive exception
outlined above.

III. CONCLUSION

{36} For the reasons stated in this opinion, Eller is overruled. Our holding in this case
applies prospectively and to all pending cases in which the defendant has not entered into
a plea agreement. We reverse the Court of Appeals and remand to the district court for
proceedings consistent with this opinion.

{37} IT IS SO ORDERED.

____________________________________
EDWARD L. CHÁVEZ, Chief Justice

WE CONCUR:

13
____________________________________
PATRICIO M. SERNA, Justice

____________________________________
PETRA JIMENEZ MAES, Justice

____________________________________
RICHARD C. BOSSON, Justice

____________________________________
CHARLES W. DANIELS, Justice

Topic Index for State v. Pieri, No. 31,119

CA CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CA-CP Criminal Procedure, General
CA-GP Guilty Plea
CA-NP Nolo Contendere Plea
CA-PP Plea and Plea Bargaining
CA-SJ Criminal Procedure, Stare Decisis
CA-SN Sentencing

CT CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

CT-MO Mootness
CT-NM New Mexico Constitution, General

14