A Crown Prosecutor's assurance that the Crown will not appeal a sentence cannot bind the Attorney-General, whose statutory right of appeal under s 669A(1) of the Criminal Code is independent and cannot be excluded by any bargain between prosecutor and defence. An accused who pleads guilty on the basis of such an assurance and later seeks to withdraw the plea must demonstrate a miscarriage of justice, which requires showing both that the misapprehension contributed to the decision to plead guilty and that there is a serious possibility the admissions inherent in the plea may be unreliable. A plea of guilty is a mitigating factor warranting recognition in sentencing even when not accompanied by remorse.
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