P. v. Johnson
Defendant and appellant Clyde Johnson, Jr., pleaded guilty to offenses arising out of a vehicle pursuit that had taken place on August 20, 2006. After his plea, defendant filed the instant appeal, alleging that a material term of his plea bargain had not been honored: He had been promised at the time of plea that he would be able to earn 50 percent credits against his sentence, but in fact he was ineligible to earn credits at that rate, because of his prior strike conviction.
Defendant had also filed a writ proceeding, based on the same alleged failure to honor the plea bargain. This court referred the matter to the superior court with directions to issue an order to show cause. The trial court held oral argument on August 26, 2011, and granted the writ. The court found that defendant had been misinformed about his eligibility to receive 50 percent credits on his state prison sentence. The court granted relief in the form of withdrawing defendant’s guilty pleas and reinstating the charges against him.
Defendant urges that the court could and should have granted relief in the form of specific performance of the plea bargain. The Attorney General maintains that the matter is moot, because defendant, after having his pleas withdrawn, has again pleaded guilty and been sentenced to four years in state prison. We agree with the Attorney General that this appeal is now moot.
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