Chapter 8 Guilty Plea

• Jurisdiction: United States

Chapter 8 Guilty Plea

Guilty Plea

A defendant is entitled to plead guilty to any accusation. Before a court can accept a plea of guilty, a defendant must waive certain constitutional rights. A defendant does not have a right to a "plea bargain."

On a felony case, the defendant must be present in court for the court to accept a guilty plea. For most (but not all) misdemeanor cases, a defendant can submit a notarized Boykin/Tahl waiver form (discussed below) through an attorney in order to plead guilty.

No Contest Plea

No contest (Latin term: nolo contendere) is used where there has been a "plea bargain" in which the defendant does not want to say he or she is guilty but accepts the sentence recommended by the prosecutor in exchange for not contesting the charge (which is often reduced to a lesser crime). A no contest plea has the same basic effect as a guilty plea. Although the defendant does not admit guilt, the judge deems the defendant convicted. No contest pleas often appeal to defendants looking to avoid an admission of fault in a related civil case.

BoykinlTahl Rights

A defendant in a misdemeanor or felony case must be informed of the following constitutional rights and knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive those rights before entering a valid plea:

• right to a jury trial,
• right to cross examine and confront witnesses, and
• right to remain silent.

Boykin v. Alabama (1969) 395 U.S. 238; In re Tahl (1969) 1 Cal.3d 122.

In addition, a defendant should also be advised of any direct consequences of a plea before a court accepts the plea. Direct consequences include fines, penalties, restitution, length of potential maximum incarceration, immigration consequences, and registration requirements.

Factual Basis and People v. West Plea

After a defendant has pled either "guilty" or "no contest" to the charge(s), a judge asks the defense counsel the following question: "Do you join in the plea, concur in the waivers, and stipulate to a factual basis for the plea?" The court wants to make sure the defense attorney has discussed the terms and consequences of any plea bargain with the defendant. Also, for a felony charge, a court cannot accept a plea unless there is some factual basis (i.e., corpus) for the plea. Cal. Penal Code §1192.5.

A defendant has a right to plead to any accusation. However, sometimes a defense attorney does not agree that a client should enter into the plea bargain for a variety of reasons. In that situation, often the defense...