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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Docket No. 38589
STATE OF IDAHO,                                                                                          )   2013 Opinion No. 9
)
Plaintiff-Respondent,                                                                                    )   Filed: February 12, 2013
)
v.                                                                                                       )   Stephen W. Kenyon, Clerk
)
BENNETT JACOB BARTLETT,                                                                                  )
)
Defendant-Appellant.                                                                                     )
)
Appeal from the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Ada
County.  Hon. Cheri C. Copsey, District Judge.
Orders relinquishing jurisdiction and denying I.C.R. 35 motion, affirmed.
Silvey Law Office, Ltd., Star, for appellant.  Greg S. Silvey argued.
Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Jason M. Gray, Deputy Attorney
General, Boise, for respondent.  Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued.
GRATTON, Judge
Bennett Jacob Bartlett pled guilty to aggravated assault.   The district court followed the
plea agreement and sentenced Bartlett to a unified five-year term, with two years determinate,
and  retained  jurisdiction.     Bartlett  appeals  from  the  district  court’s  order  relinquishing
jurisdiction.  He also appeals from the district court’s order denying his Rule 35 motion.  Bartlett
argues that the district court promised him probation if he successfully completed the retained
jurisdiction program and thus erroneously relinquished jurisdiction and denied his Rule  35
motion.
I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In March 2010, Bartlett physically assaulted a woman he was living with while he was
under the influence of alcohol.   The incident began when Bartlett picked up the woman’s dog
and twice hit it in the face.   According to the presentence investigation report (PSI), Bartlett
pushed the woman down when she tried to stop him from striking the dog.   Bartlett then held his
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hand over the woman’s mouth so that she could not breathe and “threatened to put a sock and
plastic bag in her mouth to prevent her from making any noise.”   Bartlett also hit the woman
multiple times in the face.    The woman was not allowed to leave her residence and was
threatened that if she called the police, Bartlett would “get [her] later.”   Bartlett finally left the
woman’s residence and was arrested later that evening.
The  State  charged  Bartlett  with  second  degree  kidnapping  and  cruelty  to  animals.
Bartlett entered into an Idaho Criminal Rule 11 plea agreement.   The agreement stipulated that
an amended information would be filed and Bartlett would plead guilty to aggravated assault.   It
also stipulated that Bartlett would be sentenced to a unified five-year term, with two years
determinate, and placed on probation.   The presiding judge rejected the plea agreement and
Bartlett withdrew his guilty plea.  The matter was set for trial.
On the morning of trial, the parties entered into another plea agreement whereby Bartlett
would plead guilty to aggravated assault and the State would recommend that the district court
retain jurisdiction.   An alternate judge presided over this plea hearing and accepted Bartlett’s
guilty plea.  During the plea hearing, the alternate judge engaged Bartlett:
COURT:                                                                                                    Okay.   Now, sir, the discussion between counsel and--you
know, I want to be fair with you.   I read your presentence
report.   And it appears to the court that you definitely need
substance   abuse   treatment   and   anger   management
counseling so you can be a good member of this society
and not get in any trouble.
And I told your attorney that if you did enter a plea of
guilty to the felony, aggravated assault, I would have no
problem  imposing  the  sentence  they  recommend  and
retaining jurisdiction for up to 180 days.
And that would mean that you would, more than likely, go
up to Cottonwood, Idaho.   It would be up to the department
of correction where you’d go.    But you’d go up to the
department of correction, and I would recommend you be
placed  in  the  substance  abuse  program.    And  if  you
complete that program successfully, they would then file a
recommendation to the court that you be brought back and
placed on probation.   And then you could get on with your
life.
And then at the end of the--if you complete your probation
successfully,  the--and  didn’t  have  any  problems  on
probation, your attorney can file a motion to reduce this
charge to a misdemeanor.   So you wouldn’t be a convicted
felon.
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BARTLETT:                                                                                         And that is at the end of the five years?
COURT:                                                                                            Yeah.  That would be at the end of your probation.
BARTLETT:                                                                                         Which would be five years?
BARTLETT:                                                                                         And then it wouldn’t go on my record as a felony then?
COURT:                                                                                            No, it would be on your record.   Because in Idaho we don’t
have a way to expunge and erase everything.   But it would
show you pled guilty to aggravated assault, you went on a
retained jurisdiction.  And if you complete that successfully,
then it would show you were placed on probation.   And if
you complete that successfully, then it would show that the
charge is reduced to a misdemeanor, like assault, see?
So when you are filling out forms later on down the road
after this happened, “have you ever been convicted of a
felony?” you could say no, after it’s been reduced to a
misdemeanor.
BARTLETT:                                                                                         Uh-huh.
(Emphasis added.)
Bartlett was sentenced, with the consent of counsel, by the alternate judge on the same
day to a unified five-year term, with two years determinate.   During sentencing, the alternate
judge again engaged Bartlett:
COURT:                                                                                            Mr. Bartlett, do you have anything else you’d like to say?
BARTLETT:                                                                                         No.   I didn’t understand the additional things that are going
to be imposed on or asked for after the--when I get back
from the rider.   I thought it would be just probation right
then.
COURT:                                                                                            Well,  I  guess  if  the  prosecutor  wants  to  make  some
recommendations to the judge, it doesn’t necessarily mean
that she’ll follow it, you know.
PROSECUTOR:                                                                                       Judge, I can inform the court and the defense that those--
some of those terms--if he earns probation, some of those
terms may be no contact order, may be public defender
reimbursement,   may   be   other   statutorily   permitted
sentencing terms at that point, but I just want to wait and
see what happens at the rider review.
(Emphasis added.)   Bartlett then asked the alternate judge about his sentence, to which the
alternate judge replied:
COURT:                                                                                            Okay.   So under Idaho law, after you served the two-year
fixed sentence, you’d be eligible for parole.   And it would
be  up  to  the  parole  commission  when  you  could  be
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released.   But in no event could they hold you any longer
than the total of five years, see?  You understand that?
BARTLETT:                                                                                               That’s if I foul up on the--
COURT:                                                                                                  Right.
BARTLETT:                                                                                               But if I complete the program and everything goes good, I
                                                                                                        will be on probation?
COURT:                                                                                                  Right.
BARTLETT:                                                                                               Yeah, I understand that.
COURT:                                                                                                  Now, I told  you before how to conduct  yourself while
you’re up there.   And the State of Idaho, you know, the
taxpayers spend a lot of money having these places to try to
rehabilitate people rather than just incarcerating them and
forget them until they get out.
So you’ve got an opportunity here, you know, Mr. Bartlett,
to take advantage of the treatment programs and come out
of there with a different attitude.   Don’t throw your life
away.
(Emphasis added.)
Upon the completion of the retained jurisdiction program, the correction officials filed an
addendum to the presentence investigation report (APSI).   The APSI recommended that Bartlett
be placed on probation.   The recommendation was based, in part, on Bartlett not receiving any
disciplinary sanctions and taking personal and emotional risks with his peers.   The APSI also
included some concerns regarding Bartlett’s conduct during his retained jurisdiction.   The APSI
noted that Bartlett was making progress, but because of his many years of alcohol abuse he had a
“hard time with recall and can become easily confused and overall confusing the class as a
whole.   He has stated that he has ‘wet brain’ or organic brain syndrome and seems to frequently
use that label as a victim statement.”   Lastly, the APSI detailed that “Mr. Bartlett has had trouble
in his Community Group, mainly due to his unwillingness or unknowing to fully share or justify
and/or victimize himself.”
The originally assigned judge presided over the review hearing, declined to follow the
recommendation for probation, and relinquished jurisdiction.   In relinquishing jurisdiction, the
district court first found that Bartlett was not a suitable candidate for probation.   During the
hearing, Bartlett stated that he did not cause trouble for people and his crime was  “just a
domestic thing.”  In response, the district court stated:
Number one, I’ve read the police report.   I also read the medical report the
same day that you were picked up after you ran from the scene.   There’s no
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indication that you were bitten by a dog.   Nothing in either report.   I have it right
in front of me.  They have the physical examination.  There’s no indication.
Just--this particular incident was not like you described it.  In this case you
physically assaulted [the victim].   You were under the influence of alcohol.   You
picked up her dog by the neck, punched it twice.    When she attempted to
intervene, you began shoving her and held your hand over her mouth until she
could not breathe.
At that point you reportedly threatened to put your fist down her throat,
threatened to put a sock and a plastic bag in her mouth to prevent her from
making any noise.   She relayed that you had pulled her by the hair down the
hallway and hit her multiple times in the face.  You stated that--she stated that you
would not allow her to leave the apartment for nearly two hours.   She indicated
that you forced her to lay down on the couch and said when she attempted to get
up, you hit her in the--with the blade of your hand.
At one point she said that you needed to use the restroom, but were afraid
to leave her alone so you urinated in a glass and an empty beer can which, by the
way, the officers found at the scene.   So there was some corroboration for her
statements.
Eventually she relayed that she convinced you to leave her home and
promised not to call the police.   You threatened that if she called the “pigs,” you
would get her later.  And they located you at the intersection of 35th and State.
Now, you’ve indicated that, you know, this was just a one time--just a
little domestic thing.
In 1984 you were charged with a simple assault in Spokane, Washington,
which ultimately was dismissed.   In ‘85 you were charged with harassment and
malicious mischief, again, dismissed.   In ‘86 you were charged with assault, two
counts of assault--excuse me, one count of assault, one count of assault with a
weapon, simple assault, domestic violence.   And that was charged--that was your
first felony.  You violated your probation.
In 1987 you were charged with burglary with a weapon as a felony.   That
was  dismissed.    In                                                                     1988  you  were  charged  with  criminal  trespassing  as  a
misdemeanor.  You were found guilty.
In  1993, assault, fourth degree, domestic violence as a misdemeanor.
Driving--your first DUI was in 1994.
You were charged in ‘97 with harassment.   That was dismissed.   In ‘98
you were charged with malicious mischief, domestic violence and driving under
the influence a second time.  As a felony, those were dismissed.
In ‘98 you were found guilty of assault, endangering in violation of a no-
contact order and domestic violence.   That was your second felony conviction.
You spent one year in jail, 323 days suspended.
The year 2000, harassment, domestic violence as a misdemeanor.   In the
year 2001 you were charged with your third DUI charge and that was your second
DUI conviction as a misdemeanor.
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In 2005, open container as a misdemeanor.   And then we have this, which
originally was a kidnapping case that was amended to aggravated assault and
cruelty to animals was dismissed.
This is a very--and I remember at the time because the original agreement
was for probation and I told the parties at the time there was no way, no way that I
could follow this agreement and we were going to go to trial.
Ultimately a Plan B Judge came in or a senior judge came in and he was
able to work out a resolution which included a recommendation of a retained
jurisdiction.
Now, the CAPP recommendation--the CAPP case does not give me any
kind of solace, and I’ll tell you why.   Because all the way through this, what they
say is you appear confused and have difficulty really understanding what it is that
you did.   They also indicate they do not have the facilities to treat any mental
health issues.
I’m not comfortable placing you on probation.   In my opinion, you are an
extreme danger to the community.   I don’t believe that this has addressed the
issues that need to be addressed.   And even by their own recommendation they
are suggesting that you suffer from issues that simply cannot be addressed at
CAPP.
Bartlett timely appealed the district court’s order relinquishing jurisdiction.  During the pendency
of the appeal, the briefing schedule was suspended and Bartlett filed a Rule 35 motion to correct
an illegal sentence, asserting for the first time that the alternate judge promised probation.   The
district court denied Bartlett’s Rule 35 motion.
II.
ANALYSIS
As noted, Bartlett claims that the district court promised him during the change of plea
hearing and sentencing that if he successfully completed the retained jurisdiction program, he
would  be  placed  on  probation.    In  addition,  Bartlett  argues  that  because  he  successfully
completed the program and obtained a recommendation of probation from correction officials,
the district court abused its discretion by relinquishing jurisdiction instead of placing him on
probation.   He further claims that the district court should have corrected the error by granting
his Rule 35 motion.
Bartlett  argues  that  our  usual  standards  of  review  do  not  apply to  this  case.    He
acknowledges that it is difficult to contend that the originally assigned judge abused its discretion
by relinquishing jurisdiction because Bartlett did not argue, at that time, that the alternative judge
had promised probation, nor was the transcript of the plea and sentencing hearing submitted to
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the  court  when  it  relinquished  jurisdiction.    Bartlett  is  correct  that,  based  upon  these
circumstances, we could not determine that the district court abused its discretion.
Bartlett also acknowledges that relief is unavailable through the application of our usual
Rule 35 motion standards.   In State v. Clements, 148 Idaho 82, 218 P.3d 1143 (2009), the Idaho
Supreme Court examined the scope of a Rule 35 motion:
Therefore,  the  term                                                                                   “illegal  sentence”  under  Rule                        35  is  narrowly
interpreted as a sentence that is illegal from the face of the record, i.e., does not
involve significant questions of fact or require an evidentiary hearing.    This
interpretation is harmonious with current Idaho law.   As this Court recently noted
in State v. Farwell, 144 Idaho 732, 735, 170 P.3d 397, 400 (2007), Rule 35 is a
“narrow rule.”   Because an illegal sentence may be corrected at any time, the
authority  conferred  by  Rule                                                                          35  should  be  limited  to  uphold  the  finality of
judgments.   Rule 35 is not a vehicle designed to reexamine the facts underlying
the case to determine whether a sentence is illegal; rather, the rule only applies to
a narrow category of cases in which the sentence imposes a penalty that is simply
not authorized by law or where new evidence tends to show that the original
sentence was excessive.   See State v. Arthur, 145 Idaho 219, 223, 177 P.3d 966,
970 (2008).
Id. at 86, 218 P.3d at 1147.   Bartlett’s Rule 35 motion sought to declare his sentence illegal,
using transcripts from the plea hearing and sentencing to demonstrate a binding promise of
probation which was not honored.  Bartlett’s argument thus involved significant questions of fact
and we cannot say that illegality could be determined “from the face of the record.”
Moreover, Bartlett does not argue entitlement to relief as a matter of contract law.   On
appeal, Bartlett merely alludes to contract principles--urging this Court to place him on probation
as an equitable matter and in the nature of specific performance.   Bartlett does not cite to any
case law or assert how contract law affords him a remedy under these circumstances.
Bartlett also does not argue his due process rights were violated.   Bartlett does not assert
a constitutional violation, nor does Bartlett cite to the Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 335
(1976) factors with respect to his claim.   See Bell v. Idaho Transportation Dep’t, 151 Idaho 659,
665, 262 P.3d 1030, 1036 (2011) (noting Idaho courts must consider the three factors elucidated
in Mathews for procedural due process challenges).   Even an assertion based on fundamental
fairness, which is akin to the claim in this case, requires a due process analysis.   See State v.
Scraggins, Docket Nos. 38212/38213, ____ Idaho ____, ____ P.3d ____ (December 20, 2012).
Lastly, Bartlett does not argue the State breached the plea agreement.   Bartlett does
mention that State v. Wilson, 127 Idaho 506, 903 P.2d 95 (Ct. App. 1995) is similar to the present
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circumstances.  In Wilson, the defendant argued that the district court imposed an illegal sentence
because it violated the terms of the binding plea agreement.   Wilson, 127 Idaho at 508, 903 P.2d
at 97.   Bartlett argues two claims of error under Wilson:                                              (1) the rider review court erred when it
did not give Bartlett the opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea; and (2) his plea agreement was
not entered knowingly, voluntarily, or intelligently.    However, those arguments could only
provide Bartlett with the remedy of withdrawing the plea and not placing him on probation,
which is the only relief requested.   Bartlett also does not assert that the alternative judge’s
comment  became  part  of  the  plea  agreement.     Further,  Bartlett  does  not  claim  a
misunderstanding of the plea agreement.
Ultimately, Bartlett’s claim rests on the argument that “in order to maintain the integrity
of the justice system” litigants must be able to trust a judge’s oral pronouncements.  Bartlett does
not cite to any Idaho case for this proposition, instead he solely relies on United States v.
Buchanan, 59 F.3d 914 (9th Cir. 1995) or an extension of its philosophical underpinnings.   In
Buchanan, the defendant orally moved to withdraw his guilty plea at the sentencing hearing.
The district court engaged Buchanan and stated that he “could appeal the sentencing findings.”
Id. at 916.   Buchanan did not file a motion to withdraw; instead, the parties filed a modification
to the plea agreement.   Id.   The modified plea agreement stipulated that Buchanan waived his
right to appeal his sentence, as long as his sentence was within the applicable sentencing
guidelines.   Id.   Despite that waiver clause, the district court, during sentencing, again informed
Buchanan that he could appeal his sentence within ten days.   Id. at 917.   Buchanan indicated he
understood the district court’s statements.    Id.    Regarding Buchanan’s right to appeal the
sentence, the Ninth Circuit held:
Similarly, here, the oral pronouncement must control.   The district court
twice stated that Buchanan had a right to appeal his sentence.  Indeed, Buchanan’s
answer of “Yes, sir” to the district court’s question of whether he understood that
he had a right to appeal indicates Buchanan’s expectation that he could appeal his
sentence and evinces a misunderstanding of the substance of his plea agreement.
We note also that the government did not object to the district court’s erroneous
statements.   Thus, Buchanan could have no reason but to believe that the court’s
advice on the right to appeal was correct.
Litigants need to be able to trust the oral pronouncements of district court
judges.    Given  the  district  court  judge’s  clear  statements  at  sentencing,  the
defendant’s assertion of understanding, and the prosecution’s failure to object, we
hold that in these circumstances, the district court’s oral pronouncement controls
and the plea agreement waiver is not enforceable.
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Id. at 917-18.
Idaho appellate courts have only cited Buchanan in one opinion, State v. Cope, 142 Idaho
492, 129 P.3d 1241 (2006).   There, the Idaho Supreme Court distinguished and restricted the
reading of Buchanan:
Cope argues that the district judge’s statements override any provision in
the plea agreement waiving the right to appeal.   Two points surround the court’s
statements--the meaning  of the district  judge’s  statements,  and  the case law
concerning the issue of whether an oral statement made by the court regarding a
defendant’s appeal rights can  “trump” a plea agreement waiving such rights.
First, the court’s comments regarding an appeal were made after, not before, and
not  contemporaneously  with,  Cope’s  knowing,  voluntary,  and  intelligent
acceptance of his Rule 11 agreement in which he waived his right to appeal any
matters “preceding the court’s entry of judgment and imposition of sentence.”
The court’s comments when read either separately or together, reference what is
“appealable.”   The plea agreement did not preclude appeal of the sentence.   There
is no conflict between the district judge’s statement and the plea agreement.
The Court of Appeals made this statement if the district judge’s statements
were deemed to be in conflict with the plea agreement:
The court’s later comment could not retrospectively affect
Cope’s understanding of an agreement to which he had already
assented.   We note that nearly all federal circuit courts that have
addressed this issue have held that a trial court’s act of incorrectly
informing a defendant of the right to appeal, in conflict with a
waiver of appellate review in the plea agreement, has no effect on
the validity of the waiver.   See United States v. Fleming, 239 F.3d
761, 765 (6th Cir. 2001); United States v. Fisher, 232 F.3d 301,
303-04  (2nd Cir.  2000); United States v. Atterberry,  144 F.3d
1299,  1301  (10th  Cir.  1998);  Michelsen,                                                   141  F.3d  at  872-73;
United States v. Ogden,  102 F.3d  887,  888-89  (7th Cir.  1996);
United States v. Melancon, 972 F.2d 566, 568 (5th Cir. 1992).  The
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stands alone in holding that a
court’s  oral  reference  to  the  right  to  appeal  will  trump  a
defendant’s waiver of that right in a plea agreement.   See United
States v. Buchanan, 59 F.3d 914, 917-18 (9th Cir. 1995).
Lest  there  be  confusion  in  this  area,  two  things  are  noteworthy:
(1) Buchanan is factually distinguishable from the instant case;  (2) following
Buchanan,  the  Ninth  Circuit  clarified  its  position  regarding  a  court’s  oral
reference in United States v. Floyd,  108 F.3d  202  (9th Cir.  1997) and most
recently, United States v. Lopez-Armenta, 400 F.3d 1173 (9th Cir. 2005).
After  Buchanan  waived  his  right  to  appeal  his  sentence  in  a  plea
agreement, there was a great deal of confusion surrounding his right to appeal the
impending sentence, which occurred concurrently, with a discussion as to whether
he should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea due to an ineffective assistance
9




of counsel.   In this confusion the district judge stated that Buchanan had a right to
appeal.   The Ninth Circuit narrowly held that:                                                    “Given the district court judge’s
clear statements at sentencing, the defendant’s assertion of understanding, and the
prosecution’s failure to object, we hold that in these circumstances, the district
court’s  oral  pronouncement  controls  and  the  plea  agreement  waiver  is  not
enforceable.”   Buchanan at 918 (emphasis added).   Clearly, the circumstances in
Buchanan are different than the circumstances in this case in which the district
judge told Cope that he had a right to appeal any “appealable decision “--that
decision being Cope’s sentence.
Cope, 142 Idaho at 498-99, 129 P.3d at 1247-48.
The Idaho Supreme Court’s emphasis on the phrase “in these circumstances” certainly
indicates a narrow application of Buchanan.   As mentioned in Cope, the Ninth Circuit has also
clarified and restricted Buchanan.    Importantly, almost every circuit court has criticized or
refused to apply Buchanan.   The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has been the most critical of
Buchanan.  In United States v. Rice, 145 F. App’x 155 (6th Cir. 2005), the Sixth Circuit stated:
This  Circuit,  however,  has                                                                      “expressly  decline[d]  to  adopt  the  Ninth
Circuit’s rule in [the case]” and instead we chose to “add [our] voice to the chorus
of criticism of [Buchanan].”   United States v. Fleming, 239 F.3d 761, 765 (6th
Cir. 2001).   In Fleming, we noted that “no other circuit had adopted the rule of
Buchanan, but several have spoken on the issue.”    Id.    In refusing to adopt
Buchanan, we relied on the Fourth Circuit, which has held that “once an appeal
waiver is established to be knowing and intelligent, the waiver may not be held
unenforceable because of a district court’s erroneous statements at a subsequent
proceeding.”   Id. (citing United States v. One Male Juvenile, 117 F.3d 1415 (4th
Cir. 1997)).   We held that “even if the district court did recite the language of the
Rule 32 notification of the right to appeal intending to modify the plea agreement
to resurrect Fleming’s right to appeal, the court lacked the power to make such a
modification.                                                                                      ‘Nothing in the rules even remotely allows the district court to
accept  a  guilty  plea  but  rewrite  the  plea  agreement,  even  if  the  modified
agreement is more favorable to the defendant.’”   Id. at 764-65 (quoting United
States v. Skidmore, 998 F.2d 372, 375 (6th Cir. 1993)).   We have stringently
enforced the rule that a court may not participate in the plea agreement process.
Id. at 765 (citing United States v. Barrett, 982 F.2d 193, 195 (6th Cir. 1992)).
Effectively rewriting portions of the plea agreement from the bench (even from
the court clerk’s workspace) would fall squarely into the category of prohibited
participation.   Id.   A sentencing court “cannot unilaterally restore a right to appeal
that has been waived by the defendant pursuant to a valid plea agreement.”   Id. at
762.
In the instant case, Defendant knowingly and intelligently entered into the
plea agreement long before the erroneous statements were made by the district
court clerk, and he may not so easily avoid the consequences of the “equally
binding promises.”   United States v. Bazzi, 94 F.3d 1025, 1028 (6th Cir. 1996).
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Appeals are subject to dismissal based on waiver of appeal provisions.   Fleming,
239 F.3d at 763-64.
Rice, 145 F. App’x at 158-59.
Buchanan is of very narrow application and only to the “circumstances” there present,
namely, advice regarding appellate rights in conflict with a plea agreement, circumstances not
present here.   Bartlett claims relief is due in this case to protect the integrity of the courts.  While
Buchanan may have been impliedly based upon a similar principal, Buchanan itself does not
discuss integrity of the courts as a doctrine or basis upon which any court has provided relief in
such circumstances.    Although integrity of the courts is not a new concept in Idaho case law, it
has never been applied to statements made by a judge, but has been limited to protecting litigants
from other litigants.   See State v. Guzman, 122 Idaho 981, 842 P.2d 660 (1992) (exclusionary
rule); Gilbert v. Nampa School Dist. No. 131, 104 Idaho 137, 145-46, 657 P.2d 1, 9-10 (1983)
(clean  hands  doctrine);  Loomis  v.  Church,                                                                                                                                                       76  Idaho   87,         277  P.2d                561  (1954)   (judicial
estoppel);  Weaver  v.  Millard,                                                                            120  Idaho                                                                               692,        819  P.2d   110         (Ct.  App.   1991)         (attorney
disqualification); State v. Toohill, 103 Idaho 565, 650 P.2d 707 (Ct. App. 1982) (unobjected-to
error).   We have been directed to no case in which a statement by a judge regarding eventual
sentencing disposition, under any circumstances, has been somehow enforced or provided a basis
for relief under the auspices of integrity of the courts.   While in a general sense we are always
vigilant to protect the integrity of the courts, recognizing in a criminal defendant a right to claim
entitlement to relief simply under the rubric of the integrity of the courts would open a flood gate
with no limitations.  Virtually every error, mistake, or misstatement, express or implied, could be
said to undermine the integrity of the courts.
We note that, in this case, the originally assigned judge described the statements of the
alternative judge as a “pep talk,” rather than a promise.   Certainly, in some manner, that is true.
We do not discern that the alternative judge intended to promise probation, something that judge
knew was to be left to the originally assigned judge at a later review hearing.   However, as the
discussion unfolded it is reasonable to conclude, from Bartlett’s perspective, that a successful
period of retained jurisdiction would result in probation.1
1                                                                                                           We caution the trial courts to be cognizant of the manner in which such statements may
be received.   We would further recommend that the trial courts expressly advise that probation is
not guaranteed, even after a successful rider.
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In addition, the originally assigned judge also determined that Bartlett had not been
completely  successful  during  the  period  of  retained  jurisdiction.    Even  though  the  APSI
mentioned Bartlett’s reliance on “wet brain” to portray himself as a victim, from the point of
view of the APSI, Bartlett was successful at least to the extent that he completed programming,
had no disciplinary sanctions, and received a recommendation of probation.   We note, however,
that the originally assigned judge took issue, at the review hearing, with Bartlett’s statement that
his crime was “just a domestic thing,” taking some pains to point out his prior charges, some
involving domestic violence.   Bartlett’s statement could be interpreted as a failure to internalize
programming from the retained jurisdiction period.
Under the circumstances of this case, while not without sympathy to Bartlett’s position,
we are constrained, at least from a procedural basis, from granting the specific performance type
of relief which he seeks.   We cannot conclude that Buchanan, as it has been interpreted, limited,
and in some cases rejected, provides an avenue through which to grant the relief Bartlett
requests.  We note, again, that Bartlett does not seek to withdraw his guilty plea.  Based upon the
authority provided and reviewed, and under the facts of this case, we cannot say that the district
court erred in relinquishing jurisdiction or by denying Bartlett’s Rule 35 motion.
III.
CONCLUSION
Bartlett  has  not  shown  that  the district  court  abused  its  discretion  in  relinquishing
jurisdiction or erred by denying his Rule 35 motion.   The district court’s orders relinquishing
jurisdiction and denying Bartlett’s Rule 35 motion are affirmed.
Chief Judge GUTIERREZ and Judge MELANSON CONCUR.
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