PEOPLE v. HARRIS (1997)

Supreme Court erred in failing to sentence defendant in accordance with the plea agreement.   Defendant was entitled to specific performance because he irrevocably changed his position in reliance upon the plea agreement by cooperating with the prosecutor, testifying at an unrelated murder trial that resulted in a murder conviction and providing information that led to an unrelated A felony arrest (see, People v. Schultz, 73 N.Y.2d 757, 758, 536 N.Y.S.2d 46, 532 N.E.2d 1274;  People v. Danny G., 61 N.Y.2d 169, 175-176, 473 N.Y.S.2d 131, 461 N.E.2d 268;  People v. McConnell, 49 N.Y.2d 340, 346-348, 425 N.Y.S.2d 794, 402 N.E.2d 133).   Although defendant was arrested 13 days after the plea hearing on unrelated drug charges, the condition that defendant not be rearrested was not part of the plea agreement (see, People v. Outley, 80 N.Y.2d 702, 713, 594 N.Y.S.2d 683, 610 N.E.2d 356).  Moreover, the People did not demonstrate that, as a result of the arrest, defendant's future testimony was rendered valueless (cf., People v. Curdgel, 83 N.Y.2d 862, 864, 611 N.Y.S.2d 827, 634 N.E.2d 199).   The arrest alone, in our view, does not constitute “significant additional information bearing upon the appropriateness” of the plea agreement that would allow the court to refuse to honor it despite defendant's cooperation (People v. Danny G., supra, at 171, 473 N.Y.S.2d 131, 461 N.E.2d 268).   We therefore reduce the sentence by imposing the bargained-for sentence of 41/212 to 9 years' incarceration.

Judgment unanimously modified on the law and as modified affirmed.

MEMORANDUM: