Logistics of A Plea
Jurisdiction | Maryland |
I. Logistics of a plea
A. Where and when to plead
In District Court, a plea of "not guilty" or a plea of "guilty" is entered at or before commencement of trial. In Circuit Court, the plea is entered within 15 days after the earlier of the defendant's or counsel's first appearance in Circuit Court. Md. Rule 4-242(b). More than 90% of all cases end with a guilty plea. However, those cases almost always start with a not guilty plea.
B. Types of pleas
1. Plea of "not guilty"
The defendant pleads not guilty, either personally or through counsel, on the record in open court or in writing. Md. Rule 4-242(a) and (b). If the defendant fails to enter a plea or refuses to enter, the court enters a plea of "not guilty" for the defendant.
2. Plea of "not guilty, statement of facts"
When entering a plea of "not guilty, statement of facts," the defendant pleads "not guilty," and the case proceeds on an agreed statement of facts. In Jones v. State, 77 Md. App. 193 (1988), the Court of Special Appeals held that "not guilty, statement of facts" is not the "functional equivalent of a guilty plea," and, therefore, it does not require the necessities that must accompany a guilty plea. Id. at 197-98. Accord Herd v. State, 125 Md. App. 77, 80 (1999); see Sutton v. State, 289 Md. 359, 366 (1981) (trying a case on an agreed statement of facts does not convert a "not guilty" plea into a "guilty" plea).
Occasionally, a court holds that a "not guilty, statement of facts" is the functional equivalent of a guilty plea. Yanes v. State, 52 Md. App. 150, 155 (1982); Ward v. State, 52 Md. App. 664, 670-71 (1982); Ingersoll v. State, 65 Md. App. 753, 761 (1986). On the rare occasion when a plea of "not guilty, statement of facts" is the functional equivalent of a guilty plea, the trial court must comply with the requirements for a guilty plea. In Ingersoll, the Court of Special Appeals observed:
There is a variety of reasons why counsel use [a plea of "not guilty, statement of facts"], e.g., it is less time consuming than a plea of guilty, minimizes post conviction attack on counsel, and provides that if an essential element of a charged offense is omitted for the statement that the "evidence" will be insufficient to convict.
Id. at 759. The State might fail to proffer sufficient evidence to satisfy each element of the offense and/or the criminal agency of the defendant, and the defendant may make a successful MJOA under Md. Rule 4-324(a).
Unlike a guilty plea, in which the defendant may...
To continue reading
Request your trial- Books and Journals
- Logistics of A Plea
- Policy Supporting Resolution of Criminal Cases Through Plea Bargaining
- Terms of Plea Agreements
- Parties To A Plea Agreement
- Accept Or Qualify the Guilty Plea and the Requirements Under the Due Process Clause and Md. Rule 4-242
- Non-Compliance with the Terms of A Plea Agreement
- Withdrawal of A Guilty Plea
- Appeal in A Guilty Plea Case
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.

Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.