Guilty Pleas

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Guilty Pleas Plea Bargaining

• Constitutional issues
• Procedural issues

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A. Constitutional Issues

• Guilty pleas waive constitutional rights
• Waivers of constitutional rights must be
  voluntary, knowing and intelligent
• Due process is not violated by give-and-take of
  plea bargaining
• Defendant is entitled to effective assistance of
  counsel in the plea-bargaining and guilty plea
  process

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1. Guilty pleas waive rights

• Which rights?
• Right against self-incrimination
• Right to assistance of counsel
• Right to confront witnesses and to compel
  witnesses in ones favor
• Right to complain about procedural errors unless
  preserved
• Sometimes the right to appeal completely

• Why waived by plea?
• Defendant does not put state to its proof
• Ditto
• Defendant does not cross-examine or call
  witnesses
• Implicit in finality of plea unless expressly
  conditioned on right to appeal
• Included in plea agreement in many situations
  enforced by some courts

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2. Waivers must be voluntary, knowing and
intelligent

• Voluntary
• Defendants free will
• Special issue pressure from cohorts in package
  deals
• No undue coercion
• Factor is defendants decision burdened by
  threat of capital sentence?
• US v. Jackson struck down statutory scheme
• Brady v. US upheld plea taken before statute
  struck down

• Knowing intelligent
• Defendant is aware of direct consequences
• Nature of offense(s)
• Maximum sentence
• Mandatory minimum sentence
• Other important consequences such as restitution
• Factor is defendant represented by counsel?

These are case-by-case determinations!
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3. Due process and plea bargaining

• Normal DP rule
• Government cannot act vindictively, that is,
  punish people for doing that which the law
  allows (NC v. Pearce Blackledge v. Perry)

• DP in plea bargaining
• Prosecutors are allowed to participate in
  give-and-take, and threats and sanctions for
  refusing deal are constitutional (Bordenkircher
  v. Hayes)

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Pariss Rule

• Alls fair in love, war, and plea bargaining.
• But equal protection always applies
• Prosecutors never are permitted to use prohibited
  grounds (race, gender, religion, national origin)
  as a basis for discrimination.

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4. Effective assistance of counsel in guilty plea
setting

• Test of Strickland v. Washington applies
  constitutionally deficient performance and
  prejudice
• In guilty plea setting, prejudice is defined as
  but for deficient performance, defendant would
  not have pleaded guilty (Hill v. Lockhart)

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B. Procedural issues

• When is a guilty plea entered?
• Types of guilty pleas under Rule 11
• The courts responsibilities when taking a guilty
  plea
• Withdrawing a guilty plea
• Plea agreements under Rule 11

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1. When is guilty plea entered?

• At arraignment, where defendant is read
  indictment or charges in open court and is asked
  to plead
• After arraignment, in a change of plea hearing
  conducted pursuant to Rule 11

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2. Types of guilty pleas under Rule 11(a)

• Guilty -- conditional or unconditional
• Conditional requires consent of court and
  government
• Must reserve in writing the right to appeal a
  specified pretrial motion
• Alford plea - if court permits
• Nolo contendere - conditional or unconditional
• Court must consider parties view and public
  interest
• Does not have collateral estoppel effect in civil
  cases

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3. The courts responsibilities when taking a
guilty plea

• The rule
• Advise and question defendant about consequences
  of plea
• Determine absence of force, threats, or promises
  (aside from plea agreemt)
• Determine factual basis
• Record proceedings

• The reason
• Establish record that plea was knowing and
  intelligent
• Establish record that plea was voluntary and
  publicize plea agreemt
• Ensure V satisfy justice
• Enable review

See Boykin v. Alabama rights and record
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4. Withdrawing a guilty plea

• Timing
• Before court accepts the plea
• After court accepts plea but before sentencing
• After court imposes sentence

• Defendant may
• Withdraw for any reason or for no reason
• Withdraw for a fair and just reason
• Not withdraw the plea for any reason

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5. Plea agreemts under Rule 11
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Special prohibition on court involvement in plea
agreements

• In the federal system, unlike many state
  systems, courts are prohibited from participating
  in plea discussions (see Rule 11(c)(1))