Can a prosecutor and defendant enter into a negotiated disposition that expressly recognizes or acknowledges a dispute or uncertainty about the trial court's authority to impose a maximum sentence?

Of course, a prosecutor and a defendant may enter into a negotiated disposition that expressly recognizes a dispute or uncertainty about the trial court's authority to impose a specified maximum sentence because of Penal Code section 654's multiple punishment prohibition or for some other reason and preserves the defendant's right to raise that issue at sentencing and on appeal. (See People v. Panizzon, supra, 13 Cal.4th at p. 78, fn. 8, 51 Cal.Rptr.2d 851, 913 P.2d 1061.) In that situation, the plea agreement's validity and enforceability would be unaffected by the ultimate resolution of the disputed issue

[37 Cal.Rptr.3d 360]