<em>State v. Zunick</em>: Second Guessing a First Impression

State v. Zunick presented the Montana Supreme Court with a question of first impression: what constitutes a proper colloquy under Montana Code Annotated § 46–12–211(4), and when must the colloquy occur? This statute governs the process of when a district court judge refuses to accept the terms of a plea agreement following the entry of a guilty plea. Specifically at issue in this case is the statute’s requirement that the court allow the defendant an opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea following a deviation from the agreed-upon sentence. This note first examines how a defendant could historically withdraw a plea of guilty under Montana Code Annotated § 46–16– 105(2).

Then, following an examination of the factual and procedural history in Zunick, this note analyzes how these two statutes may stand in relation to each other. However, because the Court in Zunick never addressed § 46–16–105(2), we are ultimately left in the dark as to the true understanding of how these two statutes are connected, if at all.