Once a plea bargain is made by the DA, do the sentencing guidelines still matter?
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Once a plea bargain is made by the DA, do the sentencing guidelines still matter?
I have 10 days to pull my plea. The DA offered to drop all but 1 charge if I plead guilty. He offered me 6 months in jail which would be the sentencing guideline if I pled guilty to both charges. However, the sentencing guideline for pleading guilty to 1 charge is no jail time. So is he still able to keep the 6-23 month sentence despite me only being charged with the 1 charge (where the guideline is much, much, more lenient)?
Asked on September 30, 2011 under Criminal Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have a plea bargain with the district attorney's office as to a charge against you and as part of the deal there is a set time period in jail, that is the deal that is submitted to you regardless of the fact that the sentencing guidelines for the charge that is offered to you to plead out to has no jail time.
Meaning, you plea to a given cause of action and you get the offered time in jail. Given your concerns about the offer and plea that you made, I suggest that you consult with a criminal defense attorney about it.
Good luck.
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