State v. Rardon, 98-393.
| Decision Date | 22 September 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-393.,98-393. |
| Citation | 296 Mont. 19,1999 MT 220,986 P.2d 424 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. William Lester RARDON, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
David M. Ortley, Attorney at Law, Montana, for Appellant.
Hon. Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General; Jennifer Anders, Assistant Attorney General, Montana, Thomas J. Esch, Flathead County Attorney; Ed Corrigan, Deputy County Attorney, Montana, for Respondent.
¶ 1 William Lester Rardon appeals from the Judgment and Sentence entered by the Eleventh Judicial District Court, Flathead County, sentencing him to 75 years at the Montana State Prison with 15 years suspended. In addition, the District Court declared Rardon ineligible for parole for 35 years and until completion of all phases of the Sex Offender Treatment Program.
¶ 2 The dispositive issues on appeal are whether the State breached the terms of the plea agreement and, if so, whether Rardon is entitled to be resentenced by a different judge. We reverse and remand.
¶ 3 On March 18, 1997, the State of Montana charged Rardon by Information with committing one count of sexual intercourse without consent in violation of § 45-5-503(1), MCA, and two counts of sexual assault in violation of § 45-5-502, MCA. These charges stemmed from allegations of Rardon's sexual molestation of his two minor daughters. At his arraignment, Rardon pled not guilty to the charges and a trial date was set.
¶ 4 On May 19, 1997, Rardon signed a written acknowledgment of his rights and entered into a written plea agreement with the State. Rardon agreed to plead guilty to one count of sexual assault in exchange for dismissal of the charge of sexual intercourse without consent and the other charge of sexual assault. In addition, the State agreed to recommend "a sentence in conformity with whatever recommendation may result from the Sexual Offender Amenability Evaluation and Pre-Sentence Investigation to be performed in this case prior to sentencing."
¶ 5 On June 12, 1997, Rardon appeared before the District Court for the purpose of changing his plea to guilty with respect to one count of sexual assault. After the District Court advised Rardon of his rights and the consequences of pleading guilty, it accepted Rardon's guilty plea and ordered a Presentence Investigation Report and a Sex Offender Evaluation. Upon the State's motion, the District Court dismissed the remaining counts of the Information and set a date for sentencing.
¶ 6 The Sexual Offender Treatment Amenability Evaluation was prepared on August 4, 1997, by the director of the Northwest Family Recovery Program and submitted to the District Court. This evaluation recommended, inter alia, that Rardon be accepted, on a probationary status, into an outpatient treatment program, without any term of years, to be completed in Great Falls according to the treatment standards of the Montana Sex Offender Treatment Association.
¶ 7 The probation and parole officer, who prepared the presentence investigation report dated October 30, 1997, recommended that Rardon receive a 40-year Montana State Prison sentence with 20 years suspended. The officer further recommended that Rardon not be eligible for parole until Rardon completes all available phases of the Sex Offender Treatment Program at the Montana State Prison.
¶ 8 At the December 4, 1997, sentencing hearing, the State recommended that the District Court impose a sentence of 70 years with no eligibility for parole until Rardon completes the Sex Offender Treatment Program, but for at least 30 years. In his opening remarks, Rardon's counsel referred the District Court to the plea agreement and objected to the State's recommendation on the basis that it violated the plea agreement. The State responded to the objection by stating that since the Presentence Investigation Report recommended a lengthy prison term and the Sex Offender Amenability Evaluation recommended probation and an outpatient treatment program, any recommendation was at its discretion. The State went on to claim that it did not feel the lengthy prison term recommended in the Presentence Investigation Report was sufficient and that the plea agreement did not bind the State to a specific term of years.
¶ 9 After considering the evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, the recommendations of counsel, and the information set forth in the Presentence Investigation Report and the Sex Offender Treatment Amenability Evaluation, the District Court rendered its judgment and sentence. The District Court also pointed out that Rardon had acknowledged that the court was not bound by the plea agreement and that the court had noted its contemplated sentence prior to the State's recommendation. The District Court ultimately sentenced Rardon to the Montana State Prison for 75 years with 15 years suspended. The District Court also imposed, inter alia, a restriction of no eligibility for parole for 35 years and until successful completion of all phases of the sexual offender treatment program at the Montana State Prison. Rardon appeals.
¶ 10 Did the State breach the terms of the written plea agreement entered into with Rardon when it recommended a sentence not in conformity with the Sexual Offender Treatment Amenability Evaluation or the Presentence Investigation Report and, if so, is Rardon entitled to be resentenced by a different judge?
¶ 11 The standard of review of discretionary trial court rulings in criminal cases is whether the trial court abused its discretion. State v. Sullivan (1994), 266 Mont. 313, 324, 880 P.2d 829, 836.
¶ 12 Rardon contends that an essential and material inducement to his agreement to waive his various statutory and constitutional rights was the State's agreement to recommend a sentence in conformity with whatever recommendation may result from the Sexual Offender Amenability Evaluation and Presentence Investigation. Rardon argues that the State's non-conforming recommendation was in violation of its promise and obligation under the terms of the plea agreement, entitling him to specific performance of the plea agreement and re-sentencing by a...
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...they make. Prosecutors who engage in plea bargaining must meet strict and meticulous standards of both promise and performance. State v. Rardon, 1999 MT 220, ¶ 14, 296 Mont. 19, 986 P.2d 424 (Rardon I), overruled on other grounds, State v. Munoz, 2001 MT 85, 305 Mont. 139, 23 P.3d 922. A pr......
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