What is the effect of a plea bargain in a second degree murder case?

The trial court also recognized the plea bargain would result in a substantial change in defendant's likely sentence. In determining whether a plea bargain would result in a substantial change in the sentence, we are to compare the proposed sentence with the sentence the judge would impose without a plea bargain. (People v. Arauz, supra, 5 Cal.App.4th at p. 669.) The actual sentence the court imposed on defendant for second degree murder and his other crimes and enhancements was 75 years to life, a term of imprisonment almost twice as long as the sentence proposed under the plea bargain. The court likely recognized this substantial disparity in the sentence defendant would receive after trial and the one proposed under the plea bargain, and it concluded the plea bargain would result in too drastic a reduction in sentencing.

The prosecution also made no showing that the testimony of a material witness could not be obtained.