GUILTY PLEAS AND PLEA BARGAINING

Question 1

TAKING THE PLEA: Advising Defendants of the Charge, the Potential Penalty, and Their Rights

Answer 1

• Judge must determine plea is voluntary & intelligent.
• Must be done by addressing D personally in open ct on record.
• Judge must be sure D knows & understands things like:
  (1) Nature of charge to which plea is offered & crucial elements of crime charged
  (2) Max possible penalty & any mandatory min;
  and
  (3) D has right not to plead guilty & if they do plead guilty, they waive right to trial

Question 2

Attorney May Inform Defendant

Answer 2

• Judge need not personally explain elements of each charge to D on record; sufficient that record reflects nature of charge & elements of crime were explained to D by their counsel.

Question 3

Remedy

Answer 3

• Remedy for failure to meet standards for taking a plea is withdrawal of plea & pleading anew.

Question 4

COLLATERAL ATTACKS ON GUILTY PLEAS AFTER SENTENCE

Answer 4

• Pleas seen as an intelligent choice among D’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 plea bargain.

Question 5

PLEA BARGAINING

Answer 5

• Plea bargain will be enforced against prosecutor & D, but not against judge, who does not have to accept plea.
• Guilty plea is not involuntary merely b/c it was entered in response to prosecution’s threat to charge D w/ a more serious crime if they do not plead guilty.
• No prosecutorial vindictiveness in charging a more serious offense when D demands a jury trial.

Question 6

COLLATERAL EFFECTS OF GUILTY PLEAS

Answer 6

• Guilty plea conviction may be used as a conviction in other proceedings when relevant (ex. as basis for sentence enhancement).
• However, guilty plea neither admits legality of incriminating evidence nor waives 4th am claims in subsequent civil damages action.