Over 67% of plea agreements in 2015 had waivers, most of which were simply boilerplate language found in almost every plea agreement drafted by the government. They`re so common that defendants often accept them as a necessary evil when pleading guilty, and rarely do defense lawyers challenge or negotiate plea waivers. Waiver in a Plea […]
The art of withdrawing a guilty plea comes down to which phase of the criminal proceeding you`re in when the motion to withdraw is filed. Each phase requires meeting a different standard in order to withdraw a guilty plea. These phases are: (1) Prior to it being accepted by the court, (2) After acceptance but […]
Establishing “prejudice” to undo a guilty plea because of the ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) varies depending on which stage of the criminal case you`re in when you challenge your guilty plea. There are three main categories of IAC in the guilty plea context: (1) Bad advice to plead guilty, (2) Bad advice to reject […]
Rejection of Plea Deal to Defendants in Ahmaud Arbery`s Death Exposes Power Struggle Between Federal Prosecutors and Judges The federal judge`s rejection of a plea deal by prosecutors in the case of Ahmaud Arbery`s death exposes a giant problem with plea bargaining in the federal courts: Prosecutors have tremendous power, while the judges have limited […]
Zen Law Guy 