Change of Heart or a Change of Law? Withdrawing a Guilty Plea Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(e)

• NCJ Number: 195492
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology Volume: 92 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 2001/Winter 2002 Pages: 273-305
• Author(s): Kirke D. Weaver
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 33 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines the requirements placed on defendants when they attempt to withdraw from their plea agreements.

Abstract

The author asserts that withdrawing from a plea agreement once that agreement has been approved by the court, is no easy task. The article outlines the components used to assess the efficacy of allowing a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea and then goes on to assess these components using the principles of contract law. In the first section, the author outlines the requirements of withdrawing from a guilty plea. They include establishing a fair and just reason for the plea withdrawal, the declaration of innocence by the defendant, the length of time between the plea agreement and the request to withdraw, and finally whether the government would be prejudiced if the defendant established a fair and just reason for withdrawal. In the second section, the author examines whether a change in the law that affects a defendants’ plea agreement should be grounds for legitimate withdrawal from the agreement. The main points discussed in this section include a change in the law relating to the underlying crime, a change in the law relating to the defense of the crime, and a change in sentencing law or other post-conviction consequences for the crime. The third and final section applies the principles of contract law to the dilemma of allowing defendants to withdraw from guilty pleas. The author asserts that the purpose of contract law is to ascertain when a contract’s terms are unjust or unequal, therefore, invalidating such contract. Two main factors come into play when making such a decision: first, did the injustice arise as a result of the actions of one party, or did they occur through the fault of neither party. Second, did the injustice exist prior to the contract, or did it occur after the terms of the contract were drawn and agreed upon. The author uses these principles to conclude that the use of contract law would provide judges a meaningful doctrine to examine, and keep under control, requests to withdraw guilty pleas.