Mabry v. Johnson case brief

Mabry v. Johnson case brief summary
467 U.S. 504 (1984)

CASE SYNOPSIS

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the dismissal of petitioner's request for habeas corpus relief, holding that fairness precluded the prosecution's withdrawal of a plea proposal once it was accepted by petitioner. The State appealed.

CASE FACTS
Following his convictions for burglary, assault, and murder, petitioner's murder conviction was set aside. The prosecutor proposed a recommended concurrent sentence in exchange for a guilty plea to the charge of accessory after the fact of felony murder. Petitioner accepted the offer. However, after such acceptance the prosecutor withdrew the offer and instead proposed a consecutive sentence. Petitioner rejected the second offer and elected to stand trial. At trial, a mistrial was declared. Subsequently, petitioner accepted the second offer. The trial court imposed sentence accordingly. The district court rejected petitioner's request for habeas relief.

DISCUSSION

• However, the court of appeals reversed. 
• On certiorari, the Court held that petitioner's acceptance of the prosecutor's proposed plea bargain did not create a constitutional right to have the bargain specifically enforced. 
• The Court stated that the plea was in no sense the product of governmental deception, it rested on no unfulfilled promise, and it fully satisfied the test for voluntariness and intelligence.

CONCLUSION
The Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals.



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