§ 16.02 Withdrawn Guilty Pleas

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 16.02 Withdrawn Guilty Pleas

Rule 410(a)(1) provides that a withdrawn guilty plea (and related statements) are inadmissible if offered against the defendant who made the plea.³ Guilty pleas may be withdrawn under certain conditions. If the court permits a withdrawal, allowing the prosecutor to introduce the withdrawn plea in evidence at a subsequent trial would make little sense.⁴ This "would effectively set at naught the allowance of withdrawal and place the accused in a dilemma utterly inconsistent with the decision to award him a trial."⁵

Moreover, admission of a withdrawn guilty plea would "compel the defendant to take the stand by way of explanation and to open the way for the prosecution to call the lawyer who had represented him at the time of entering the plea."⁶ The same result is reached where a defendant makes incriminatory statements after a guilty plea is accepted but later vacated.⁷

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Notes:

^[3] Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 governs guilty pleas in criminal cases.

^[4] Note that pleas of guilty that are not withdrawn or rejected by the trial court are admissible as statements ("admissions") of a party-opponent.

^[5] Fed. R. Evid. 410 advisory committee's note (citing Kercheval v. United States, 274 U.S. 220 (1927)).

^[6] Id. (citing People v. Spitaleri, 173 N.E.2d 35 (N.Y. 1961)).

^[7] See United States v. Ventura-Cruel, 356 F.3d 55, 63 (1st Cir. 2003) ("use of such statements is unfair under the circumstances, and we need not reach the constitutional grounds"); Hawkins v. Hannigan, 185 F.3d 1146, 1156-57 (10th Cir. 1999) (holding that it was fundamentally unfair and a violation of the privilege against self-incrimination to introduce incriminating statements made by defendant in reliance on subsequently withdrawn plea bargain).