The Alaska Court of Appeals vacated Nick Frankson’s sentence because the State undermined its plea agreement and the trial judge failed to obtain Frankson’s personal decision to maintain his pleas.
The Alaska Court of Appeals vacated Nick Frankson’s assault sentences on two grounds: the successor prosecutor breached the plea agreement by actively arguing against the parties’ agreed 720-day sentence on remand, and the superior court failed to personally address Frankson before proceeding to open sentencing after rejecting the sentencing agreement under Alaska Criminal Rule 11(e)(3). The court separately held that using Frankson’s nine prior assault convictions to find AS 12.55.155(c)(8) did not violate the Sixth Amendment under Erlinger v. United States, because determining that multiple dated assault convictions constitute ‘repeated instances of assaultive behavior’ requires examining only the bare conviction record — not the fact-laden inquiry that Erlinger held must go to a jury.
The Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously affirmed consecutive sentences for a former Casper police officer who pleaded guilty to five counts of aggravated assault and battery following a prolonged armed standoff, holding that a plea agreement capping the State’s “sentencing argument” was a non-binding recommendation under W.R.Cr.P. 11(e)(1)(B)—not a stipulated sentence under 11(e)(1)(C)—and that Wyoming district courts need not make specific findings when deviating from a sentencing recommendation.