People v. Jasper

I. INTRODUCTION

In this appeal we hold that a trial court possesses the inherent authority to impose a plea cutoff deadline as part of its case management responsibilities provided the parties have notice of the deadline. If the parties seek to tender the plea after the deadline, then they have the burden to establish good cause to bypass the deadline. Here, they have failed to do so. The determination of good cause in this context rests with the sound discretion of the trial court.

In this case, the prosecution, the petitioner before us, reached a plea agreement with the respondent, defendant…