The Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday ruled that a judge cannot impose a sentence on a defendant lighter than a prosecutor has recommended without the prosecutor’s consent—a victory for prosecutors that reverses a ruling last year by the state Court of Appeals.
In a 6-1 ruling written by Justice Carol Hunstein, the high court concluded that in plea bargains, trial judges cannot accept a defendant’s guilty plea to a crime less serious than the one for which the defendant was indicted, unless prosecutors agree. If prosecutors object to a lesser sentence proposed by a judge, they have the authority to withdraw the negotiated plea deal and take the case to trial.
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