Appellant entered into a plea bargain and pleaded no contest to a felony drug count with the understanding that he would be sentenced to no more than 7 years. He was advised that, among other financial consequences, there could be a restitution fine which would be no less than $200 and no more than $10,000. The court then imposed a $1200 restitution fine. On appeal, appellant argued that the trial court violated the plea agreement by imposing a restitution fine of $1200, because it was not an element of the plea bargain. The appellate court rejected the argument, finding that the fine was within appellant’s “contemplation and knowledge” when he entered his plea. This was not a case where a judicial advisement concerning the restitution fine was omitted, as in Walker and McClellan, or where the advisement was in error, as in Moser. J. Mihara dissented, finding no distinction between Walker and this case, and urging the Supreme court to revisit the issue and clarify its holding in Walker.
Case Summaries