Guilty pleas and plea bargaining

Question 1

General rule re: guilty pleas

Answer 1

court will not disturb guilty pleas after sentencing

Question 2

If D pleads guilty, judge must specifically address the D ON THE RECORD about the following 3 things

Answer 2

1) nature of the charge (elements of crime charged)
2) judge must tell D the maximum authorized penalty and any mandatory minimum penalty and
3) judge must tell him that he has the right to plead not guilty and to demand a trial (if plead guilty, waive right to trial)

Question 3

Exception to general rule: 4 good bases for withdrawing a guilty plea after sentence

Answer 3

1) plea was involuntary (some mistake in plea taking ceremony)- plea must be voluntary and intelligent; plea NOT involuntary merely b/c it was entered in response to prosecution’s threat to charge the D with a more serious crime
2) lack of jxn
3) ineffective assistance of counsel
4) failure of prosecutor to keep an agreed upon plea bargain