(Download) "State Ex Rel. Foot v. District Court Et Al." by Supreme Court of Montana * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: State Ex Rel. Foot v. District Court Et Al.
- Author : Supreme Court of Montana
- Release Date : January 10, 1928
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 68 KB
Description
Certiorari ? Criminal Law ? Withdrawal of Plea of Guilty After Judgment Permissible ? Discretion. Criminal Law ? Court may, After Judgment, Permit Plea of Guilty to be Withdrawn and Plea of not Guilty to be Substituted ? Discretion. 1. Held, that while section 11909, Revised Codes 1921, provides that the district court at any time before judgment may permit a plea of guilty to be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty to be substituted, the court is not prohibited by statute from permitting this to be done after judgment; that the power to permit - Page 496 the latter is inherent and may be exercised in the courts discretion to rectify an injustice, especially where occasioned through ignorance or lack of understanding of the gravity of the offense charged against the petitioner, and its discretion in that behalf may not be disturbed except on a showing of abuse thereof. Same ? Law Watchful That Defendant has Fair Trial. 2. The law seeks no unfair advantage over a defendant charged with crime but is watchful that the proceedings under which his life or liberty is at stake shall be fairly and impartially conducted, and therefore where it fairly appears that he, in entering a plea of guilty, was ignorant of his rights and the consequences of his act, or was influenced unduly and improperly either by hope or fear, or that the plea was entered under some mistake or misapprehension, courts ordinarily will permit him to change his plea. Same ? Permission to Withdraw Plea of Guilty and Substitute One of not Guilty After Judgment Held Proper. 3. Held, on application for writ of certiorari, and under the above rules, that where the evidence introduced by the state under a charge of attempt to commit rape, to which defendant had interposed a plea of guilty, showed that defendant accosted a young woman on a city street in the night-time, put his arm around her, asked to be permitted to carry a case she was carrying addressing a vulgar remark to her and then departed, the trial court in its discretion properly granted his petition, after sentencing him for a term of from three to six years in the state prison but before the commitment had been executed, to change his plea of guilty to not guilty, it appearing that he had acted without advice of counsel and in ignorance of his rights and the consequences of his plea.