Arizona State Withdrawing from a Plea Agreement

In Coy v. Fields, 200 Ariz. 442, 27 P.3d 799, 348 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 55 (App. 2001) the Court concluded that double jeopardy considerations precluded the State from withdrawing from a plea agreement. In Coy, the plea agreement permitted and the trial court imposed a term of probation that exceeded the maximum term statutorily provided for the underlying crime. 348 Ariz. Adv. Rep. at 55, P 2. When the defendant moved to modify his unlawful term of probation, the trial court permitted the State to withdraw from the plea agreement; but this court vacated that order, holding that the expanded probationary range was not material to the agreement and that jeopardy had attached when the court accepted the defendant's guilty plea. 348 Ariz. Adv. Rep. at 56, P 10, 55, P 5. In Coy the conviction rested upon a valid criminal foundation; there was no need to vacate the conviction in order to correct the trial court's sentencing error.