People v. Bofill

Petitioner’s application by way of writ of error coram nobis poses this not unusual question: Does a motion of this kind lie after conviction by a plea of guilty agreed to by defendant on the faith of a promise of a specific sentence when made by the District Attorney, not, however, to defendant but to his lawyer, and thereafter broken when the sentencing Judge meted out a higher sentence?

Defendant asserts that his plea of guilty to the crime of murder in the second degree came to pass after his lawyer had assured him that the promised sentence would be 20 years to life. This assurance was…