Withdrawing a Guilty Plea
Entering a guilty plea is often a very hard thing for a defendant to do. In most cases, a guilty plea is entered because the defendant does not feel that he or she has a very high likelihood of success at trial and that the state or federal government has made a fair offer in exchange for the convenience of avoiding trial. Other times, however, defendants enter guilty pleas because they are coerced into doing so by defense counsel, friends, or family, or because they simply do not comprehend the significance of doing so. Entering a guilty plea involves waiving many of the constitutional rights that Americans hold dear: the right to a fair trial on the merits, the right to a jury of one's peers, the right to confront witnesses against oneself, and so on. Because a guilty plea carries with it the forfeiture of these rights and often means that the defendant will serve a period of time in confinement, Tennessee allows defendants to withdraw their guilty pleas if circumstances dictate that such action is appropriate.
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently clarified the standard used in this state for allowing withdrawal of guilty pleas. Tennessee Courts use a five-factor test that has been in place since 2000 when weighing whether or not to allow a defendant to withdraw his or her guilty plea. According to the recently issued Tennessee Supreme Court opinion in State v. Phelps:
[T]hese five factors are (1) length of time between entry of guilty plea and filing of motion to withdraw it, (2) why grounds for withdrawal were not presented to court at earlier point in proceedings, (3) whether defendant has asserted and maintained his or her innocence, (4) circumstances underlying entry of guilty plea, nature and background of defendant, and whether defendant has admitted his or her guilt, and (5) once defendant has established “fair and just reason” for withdrawal, whether prosecution will be prejudiced should plea be withdrawn.
In Phelps, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that, depending on the circumstances, a simple change of heart on the part of the defendant may be sufficient to meet the above-referenced test and warrant allowing a defendant to withdraw his or her guilty plea. Whether a defendant will be allowed to do so often depends on how persuasively he or she can present an argument that the circumstances leading to the decision to withdraw the plea constitute a "fair and just" reason for allowing withdrawal of the plea. Criminal defendants in Tennessee would be well-advised to consult experienced criminal defense counsel who can effectively argue for withdrawal of the guilty plea and provide competent representation throughout the trial process should a motion for withdrawal prove successful.
Source: State v. Phelps, 35 TAM 52-3, 12/16/10
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