Guilty Pleas and Plea Bargaining Flashcards
What does the attorney have to advise the D about?
The judge must determine that the plea is voluntary and intelligent. This must be done by addressing the defendant personally in open court on the record. Specifically, the judge must be sure that the defendant knows and understands things such as:
• The nature of the charge to which the plea is offered and the crucial elements of the crime charged
• The maximum possible penalty and any mandatory minimum; and
• That the defendant has a right not to plead guilty and that if they do plead guilty, they waive the right to trial
a. Attorney May Inform Defendant
The judge need not personally explain the elements of each charge to the defendant on the record; it is sufficient that the record reflects that the nature of the charge and the elements of the crime were explained to the defendant by their own counsel.
What is the remedy under taking a plea?
The remedy for a failure to meet the standards for taking a plea is withdrawal of the plea and pleading anew.
What is the collateral attack on guilty pleas after sentence?
Those pleas that are seen as an intelligent choice among a defendant’s alternatives are immune from collateral attack. But a plea can be set aside for (1) involuntariness (failure to meet standards for taking a plea), (2) lack of jurisdiction, (3) ineffective assistance of counsel, or (4) failure to keep the plea bargain.
How is a plea bargaining used?
A plea bargain will be enforced against the prosecutor and the defendant, but not against the judge, who does not have to accept the plea. A guilty plea is not involuntary merely because it was entered in response to the prosecution’s threat to charge the defendant with a more serious crime if they do not plead guilty. There is no prosecutorial vindictiveness in charging a more serious offense when defendant demands a jury trial.
What is the collateral effect of guilty pleas?
A guilty plea conviction may be used as a conviction in other proceedings when relevant (for example, as the basis for sentence enhancement). However, a guilty plea neither admits the legality of incriminating evidence nor waives Fourth Amendment claims in a subsequent civil damages action.
