State v. Cooke, 973 N.W.2d 658

Cooke pled guilty to second-degree murder (Class IB) under a written plea agreement in which the State agreed to recommend "a sentence of 20 years imprisonment" in return for her truthful cooperation against codefendants.
Pre-sentencing email from the prosecutor said "the sentence would be 20 years imprisonment which is in cut in half so it would be 10 years imprisonment," but the prosecutor later stated that email was not part of the plea agreement.
At sentencing the prosecutor said the State would "stand by that 20-year recommendation" but disavowed any promise that 20 years was a guaranteed maximum or a 10-year release date; defense counsel made no contemporaneous objection.
The district court rejected the 20-year recommendation as depreciating the seriousness of the crime and sentenced Cooke to incarceration of no less than 60 years to life (credit for time served).
Cooke appealed, arguing prosecutorial misconduct for breaching the plea agreement and that the sentence was excessive; her counsel on appeal was the same as at trial.
The Nebraska Supreme Court reviewed the unpreserved prosecutorial-misconduct claim for plain error and reviewed the within-statutory sentence for abuse of discretion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Prosecutorial misconduct / breach of plea agreement	State promised 20 years with a maximum or release at 10 years (per email) and then undermined that promise at sentencing	Plea obligated only a recommendation of 20 years; prosecutor never promised a 10-year max or release date and noted legal limits on good-time credits	No breach; prosecutor's statements were not improper and no plain error was shown
Excessive sentence	60-years-to-life is excessive given Cooke's medical issues, traumatic background, cooperation, and rehabilitation	Sentence is within statutory limits and the court considered mitigating and aggravating factors	Sentence affirmed; no abuse of discretion in weighing factors

State v. Kipple, 310 Neb. 654, 968 N.W.2d 613 (Neb. 2022) (plain-error review for unpreserved prosecutorial-misconduct claims)
State v. Grant, 310 Neb. 700, 968 N.W.2d 837 (Neb. 2022) (appellate review of sentences within statutory limits requires showing of abuse of discretion)
State v. Dubray, 289 Neb. 208, 854 N.W.2d 584 (Neb. 2014) (standards for prosecutorial conduct and plain-error review)
State v. Landera, 285 Neb. 243, 826 N.W.2d 570 (Neb. 2013) (court not bound by plea agreement terms beyond what was actually promised)
State v. Iddings, 304 Neb. 759, 936 N.W.2d 747 (Neb. 2020) (remedies and procedures when plea-related disputes arise)
State v. Blake, 310 Neb. 769, 969 N.W.2d 399 (Neb. 2022) (sentencing factors and appellate review of discretionary sentencing)
United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1985) (plain-error/harmless-error principles; contemporaneous-objection rule exceptions)
United States v. Benchimol, 471 U.S. 453 (U.S. 1985) (prosecutor's recommendation need not be enthusiastic to satisfy a plea promise)