Commonwealth v. Francis, 477 Mass. 582

Roger Francis was convicted of first‑degree murder in 1967; that conviction was later vacated and retried after procedural rulings.
In May 1994 Francis agreed to plead guilty to second‑degree murder in exchange for the Commonwealth not opposing immediate parole consideration; if parole was denied he could withdraw the plea and be retried.
At the plea hearing defense counsel and the plea judge (over the Commonwealth's objection) understood/ordered that Francis would not have to be in custody for parole consideration; the parole board maintained it needed custody under G. L. c. 127, § 133A.
Disputes about custody delayed parole hearings; Francis ultimately withdrew his 1994 guilty plea in 2000 and was retried and convicted of first‑degree murder in 2003.
In 2013 a judge granted Francis a new trial motion and, invoking fundamental fairness, ordered specific performance of the 1994 plea agreement allowing him to plead guilty to second‑degree murder. The Commonwealth appealed.
The Supreme Judicial Court held the judge abused her discretion: the record did not show an enforceable Commonwealth promise that Francis need not be in custody, nor detrimental reliance by Francis.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial judge properly ordered specific performance of the 1994 plea agreement over the Commonwealth's objection	Commonwealth: plea enforcement improper because no binding promise and no detrimental reliance	Francis: court should enforce plea on due process/fundamental fairness grounds because he relied on understanding that he need not be in custody for parole	Court held specific performance was improper: no enforceable promise by Commonwealth and no detrimental reliance by Francis

Commonwealth v. Francis, 355 Mass. 108 (1969) (earlier appeal of 1967 conviction)
Commonwealth v. Francis, 411 Mass. 579 (1992) (decision affirming denial of new trial on report)
Commonwealth v. Francis, 450 Mass. 132 (2007) (upholding 2003 first‑degree murder conviction)
Commonwealth v. Gordon, 410 Mass. 498 (1991) (prosecutor controls plea offers; courts generally should not substitute their judgment)
Commonwealth v. Smith, 384 Mass. 519 (1981) (specific performance of prosecutor's plea promises may be ordered on contract or due‑process grounds when defendant reasonably relies to detriment)
Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (1971) (detrimental reliance where prosecutor breaks plea promise regarding sentencing recommendation)
Commonwealth v. Benton, 356 Mass. 447 (1969) (detrimental reliance where plea disposition was reneged by prosecutor)
Blaikie v. District Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 375 Mass. 613 (1978) (principles on reasonable grounds to assume bargain)
Commonwealth v. Mahar, 442 Mass. 11 (2004) (courts may not use hindsight to second‑guess plea decisions)
Commonwealth v. Yardley Y., 464 Mass. 223 (2013) (review of plea‑enforcement rulings for abuse of discretion)