An enhancement admission accepts a separately charged sentencing allegation instead of requiring the prosecution to obtain a true finding on it at trial. Before admitting one, identify the exact statute, the facts you are admitting, and the rights you are giving up. The sentence depends on the enhancement law and the actual plea terms; there is no single added term for every enhancement.

Penal Code section 1170.1(e) requires an enhancement to be alleged in the charging document and either admitted by the defendant in open court or found true by the fact finder. Merely seeing an enhancement listed in a complaint is different from admitting it. (Penal Code § 1170.1(e))

Understand the allegation and the waiver

Ask counsel to explain each element of the enhancement and the evidence supporting it before the plea hearing. Confirm which allegation you will admit and which, if any, will remain contested or be dismissed. The admission should match the exact subsection and underlying count in the agreement.

The optional Judicial Council felony plea form addresses these issues separately: item 1 identifies the allegations, item 6 calls for discussion of their elements and consequences, and item 8 records the waiver of trial and other rights for the listed matters. Item 9 addresses the plea, admissions, and factual basis. Review the rights attached to your particular allegation with counsel; do not treat initialing the form as a substitute for understanding them. Local courts may use a different form. (California Judicial Council form CR-101)

Separate the admission from the sentence calculation

Find the enhancement in the proposed sentencing calculation. Determine whether its term is included in an agreed total, left for the judge to select, or expressly dismissed. A maximum-exposure figure on a form is not necessarily the negotiated sentence.

For an enhancement with three possible terms governed by section 1170.1(d), a term above the middle term requires aggravating circumstances that justify it and supporting facts stipulated to by the defendant or found true beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Admitting the enhancement and agreeing to additional aggravating facts are separate points to clarify. Ask counsel exactly which facts any proposed stipulation covers. (Penal Code § 1170.1(d))

Rules about combining, dismissing, or striking enhancements depend on the statutes and case. Have counsel explain the actual allegation and calculation rather than assuming every charged term must be added together. After the hearing, compare the oral admission and sentencing terms with the written agreement and minute order. Raise any discrepancy promptly.

For help reviewing an enhancement and proposed plea terms, contact the Law Offices of David S. Chesley at (800) 755-5174.