§ 45.06 Enforceability of Stipulations

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 45.06 Enforceability of Stipulations

Once the trial judge has accepted a stipulation, both parties generally are entitled to enforcement of the agreement. A party cannot escape the effect of a stipulation simply by retaining new counsel.³⁶ Also, a trial stipulation can be binding at the later sentencing phase.³⁷ Further, in many jurisdictions, a stipulation accepted in the first trial is enforceable and binding at a subsequent retrial.³⁸

There are special problems with the enforceability of stipulations in criminal cases. In James v. State,³⁹ for instance, the prosecution stipulated before trial that the state would not elicit in-court identification testimony without first affording the defendant an opportunity for a lineup. The appellate court reversed the defendant's conviction because the prosecution breached the agreement. The court's decision rested on policy grounds: "Agreements between counsel must be enforceable if the courts are to retain the respect and confidence of the public."⁴⁰

In exceptional circumstances, the judge may relieve a party from the effects of a stipulation on the grounds of mistake of fact, mistake of law, fraud, misrepresentation, change of circumstance, excusable neglect, or some special circumstance creating the possibility of manifest injustice.⁴¹ In making this decision, courts consider: "(1) the effect of the stipulation the party seeking to withdraw the stipulation, (2) the effect on other parties, (3) the occurrence of intervening events since the parties agreed to the stipulations, and (4) whether evidence contrary to the stipulation is substantial."⁴²

Suppose, for instance, that the stipulation is ambiguous; it excludes statements made by an accused to police officers but does not clearly indicate that it also excludes statements to private persons. The trial judge decides that the stipulation should be construed as reaching those latter statements as well, but the judge finds that the prosecutor mistakenly assumed that the stipulation did not apply. In this situation, one court indicated that this mistake would constitute good cause warranting relief from the stipulation.⁴³ To obtain the relief, the prosecutor should file a motion to vacate the stipulation.⁴⁴

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Notes:

^[36] United States v. Wingate, 128 F.3d 1157, 1160 (7th Cir. 1997); Marden v. International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, 576 F.2d 576, 580 (5th Cir. 1978).

^[37] United States v. Dailey, 918 F.2d 747, 748 ( 8th Cir. 1990).

^[38] United...