Assignment:
Review Case Scenario: EPA Vs. A1 Uranium, Clinton Chemicals, and ChurchHill Unlimited Chemicals.
Q: Attorney Cruise asks you to draft the final court order granting relief to the citizens based on the relevant facts and law in the case
Motion to Enforce Plea Agreement: State v. John Doe. Remember to review the grading criteria prior to submitting your assignment. The prosecutor has withdrawn a plea agreement he offered for your client, and now your attorney wants the court to enforce the plea agreement. Once again using the provided templates, you will prepare a notice of motion to enforce the plea agreement, certification, affidavit, proposed form of order and proof of mailing discussing the plea bargain offered by the prosecutor. Submit your response in a Word document.
A motion to enforce the plea agreement (aka plea bargain) is a separate filing from the notice of motion. A plea agreement between the prosecution and defendant is considered by law to be a contract; when the prosecution makes an offer and the defendant accepts the offer knowingly & voluntarily, it is binding on the state as long as the defendant has not violated the terms of the agreement or unless there's language in the agreement permitting the prosecutor to withdraw it. Otherwise, a defendant does have the right to have the agreement enforced. See, State v. Salentre, 576 A.2d 36 (App. Div. 1990).
A notice of motion must also be submitted. The purpose of the notice has not changed from prior weeks: you are legally notifying the opposing party that you are going to file a motion and what the motion is. The notice of motion does not need to be any longer than one page.
A certification must also be submitted. This purpose has not changed. You are telling the court the reasons why the motion should be granted. The attorney should complete the certification. Overall, the attorney should certify that he entered into plea negotiations with the prosecutor, his client accepted the plea agreement, and the prosecution withdrew from the agreement. The length of your certification will vary but in this case it really does not need to be more than two pages in length.
You will complete an affidavit in support of the motion to enforce the plea agreement. The affidavit should be completed by the defendant. Overall, John Doe needs to certify his understanding of the plea agreement and that he knowingly and voluntarily agreed to enter into it. Again the length of the affidavit will vary. Most successfully written affidavits by students in the past for this assignment have been 3-4 pages, double-spaced.