What is a cruz waiver,?
i know it has to do with california law but i want to know what one does
Answers:
In general, when a defendant enters into a plea bargain, the court cannot sentence the defendnat to something more than the plea (for example, if you plead guilty with the expectation that you'll get 5 years, the court cannot then sentence you to 10). This is penal code section 1192.5.
However, there was a question of whether the defendant would lose that protection if he didn't show up to the hearing. The case was People v. Cruz and the California Supreme Court said no -- a defendant who fails to appear for sentencing is not considered to breach the plea agreement and is still protected by section 1192.5.
However, the defendant can waive the protections of 1192.5: "We do not mean to imply by this holding that a defendant fully advised of his or her rights under section 1192.5 may not expressly waive those rights, such that if the defendant willfully fails to appear for sentencing the trial court may withdraw its approval of the defendant's plea and impose a sentence in excess of the bargained-for term. Any such waiver, of course, would have to be obtained at the time of the trial court's initial acceptance of the plea, and it must be knowing and intelligent."
A defendant who waives his rights to the plea by not showing up to the hearing is said to have made a "Cruz waiver"
The answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer.com does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
More Law Questions and Answers: