State v. M. Walton

Summary

The court held that the prosecutor breached Walton's plea agreement by recommending a parole restriction when the agreement authorized only Walton to argue for any legal sentence and required the State to make specific sentencing recommendations. Because the sentencing court expressly relied on the improper recommendation, the breach affected the fundamental fairness of the sentencing proceeding despite Walton's failure to object. The court reversed the sentence and remanded for a new sentencing hearing before a different judge under Walton's chosen remedy of specific performance.