Baines v. State

This appeal concerns whether a judge who agrees to be bound to the terms of a plea agreement that calls for a sentence “within the guidelines” may impose a “split sentence” that exceeds the guidelines and suspends all but the part of the sentence that falls within the guidelines. The State and Petitioner Paul Antoine Baines negotiated a plea bargain that called for him to plead guilty to two counts of armed robbery and be sentenced “within the guidelines.” The overall guidelines range for those offenses was seven to thirteen years. The court accepted the plea and agreed “just [to] commit…