Rodriguez v. Bush

Petitioner seeks review of the district court's denial of his petition for habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. The trial judge rejected the plea agreement between defendant and the state prosecutor, off the record and without giving reasons other than stating that he was "ready to try a case." Defendant contends that his counsel was ineffective because he failed to object to the rejection of the plea agreement and preserve the issue for appellate review. In Missouri v. Frye, the Supreme Court has clearly stated that there is no federal right that a plea be accepted by a judge. Furthermore, the court rejected defendant's contention that Santobello v. New York announced a constitutional due process right that a judge accept a plea bargain. Therefore, the court concluded that defendant was not prejudiced by his attorney’s failure to make this meritless objection. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Rodriguez v. Bush" on Justia Law