BURLINGTON, VT – Vermont Superior Court Judge R. David Fenster this week denied motions to either withdraw a plea or resentence a man after his public defender argued the plea was entered under a mistaken belief about parole eligibility—a situation the defense described as a “manifest injustice.”
Supervising Public Defender Josh O’Hara informed the court the accused misunderstood the plea agreement when he entered into it, and believed he would be eligible for parole, but has since been denied eligibility.
SPD O’Hara verbally requested the withdrawal of the plea or a motion for resentencing in order to help his client gain parole eligibility.
The defense sought to adjust the sentence from 0-30 days to 1-29 days, explaining that a minimum term of at least one day would allow the client to qualify for parole consideration.
SPD O’Hara argued granting his client parole eligibility would address what he described as a “manifest injustice” caused by his client’s misunderstanding.
Deputy State’s Attorney Jacqueline Whitman countered the “criminal division does not have jurisdiction” over such matters, and thus she was “not willing to stipulate a reduction.”
Judge Fenster agreed the court’s discretion was limited considering the request was to reduce a sentence that was a result of a plea agreement.
Judge Fenster cited limited judicial discretion in altering a plea agreement and noted that, to grant the motion, the accused would have needed to “reasonably misunderstand” the plea terms—a threshold the defense had not addressed.
DSA Whitman ultimately maintained her position that she would not stipulate to a reduction, given the lack of clarity as to what caused the accused’s misunderstanding.
The motion to withdraw the plea was ultimately denied by Judge Fenster.
SPD O’Hara withdrew the resentencing motion, but stated he would submit the motion in writing. Meanwhile, the accused remains ineligible for parole—a result the accused claims he never expected when agreeing to the plea.
