State ex rel. Morris v. Mohn

In State ex rel. Morris v. Mohn, 165 W. Va. 145, 267 S.E.2d 443 (1980), the Court found that a guilty plea entered as part of a plea agreement that provides for an illegal sentence is invalid and must be vacated. In syllabus point one of Mohn, the Court stated: "A recognized corollary to the principle that a guilty plea must be shown to have been intelligently and voluntarily entered is the rule that if the plea is based on a plea bargain which is not fulfilled or is unfulfillable, then the guilty plea cannot stand." In syllabus point three of Mohn, this Court addressed the issue of the invalidity of a plea agreement which is legally unfulfillable, explaining that "a guilty plea entered pursuant to a plea bargain which promises a concurrent sentence must be set aside where the promise of concurrency is not fulfilled."