People v. Kenneth H.

This appeal presents the question whether a prosecutor can withdraw from a plea agreement before it is submitted to, and approved by, the trial court. At issue is an agreement that the prosecutor would move to dismiss this juvenile delinquency proceeding if the minor agreed to take a polygraph examination and passed it, and the minor further agreed to admit the charge as a misdemeanor if he failed the polygraph test. After the minor paid for and passed the test, the prosecutor refused to move for dismissal.

U.nder the circumstances of this case, we conclude that the prosecution could not renege on its plea agreement. As we shall explain, the need for public confidence in the integrity of the prosecutor’s office requires the prosecution to abide by its promise if the accused has relied detrimentally upon the agreement. Nevertheless, because a plea agreement requires judicial approval, the trial court is not bound by it.

Background

Kenneth H. (the minor) was charged in a delinquency petition (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602) with inflicting cruelty upon an animal, a felony (Pen. Code, § 597, subd. (a)).

Prior to the date set for the contested jurisdiction hearing, the minor…