People who have spent years fighting to both prove their innocence and to go home are faced with yet another impossible choice: go home immediately or much sooner without being exonerated or take the risk of being re-convicted at trial. It also happens after people have taken the extraordinary step of demonstrating-through solid evidence and often decades in prison-that they were, in fact, innocent. The guilty plea problem doesnвЂ™t occur just at the front-end of the system. The plea system is not a bargain itвЂ™s a problem that has no regard for innocence. When so many innocent people are agreeing to their own wrongful convictions, itвЂ™s time to acknowledge that something is very wrong. While itвЂ™s hard to believe that the United States criminal justice system could be so deeply flawed that innocent people are convicted of crimes they didnвЂ™t commit, itвЂ™s even harder to fathom that some of those innocent people actually felt compelled to plead guilty, often in exchange for a reduced sentence or to avoid the death penalty.

Furthermore, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, 18 percent of known exonerees pleaded guilty. In fact, nearly 11 percent of the nationвЂ™s 362 DNA-based exonerations since 1989 involved people who pleaded guilty to serious crimes they didnвЂ™t commit. Yet, the number of wrongful convictions exposed over the last 25 years has proven that reasoning to often be unsubstantiated. When a defendant is at his initial appearance, the best idea is to plea not guilty, at least to take a few days to think it over and possibly contact an attorney for advice.When most people learn that a person pleaded guilty to a crime, they believe the person must have done it. So why hand over all your pleas before a bargain is on the table? Usually all the defendant has to give are his guilty pleas. Well, the essence of a plea bargain is giving something to the State in exchange for the State giving something to the defendant. Many times I have taken a case where a defendant pleaded guilty to one or two of the charged misdemeanors, and not guilty to the others hoping to have them dismissed as part of a plea bargain. Pleading not guilty is a good idea even if the defendant knows and understands he is guilty of some, but not all of the offenses that have been charged. And it is possible, of course, to have the same judge rule upon the Motion as the one that took the guilty plea. So if a Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea is filed, it is an attack on the judgeвЂ™s ability to determine if the defendant knew what was going on. It is the judgeвЂ™s job to make sure these conditions are met. Also, they would much rather have a not guilty plea be withdrawn to enter a guilty plea, than a guilty plea attempted to be withdrawn.ДЇor a guilty plea to be withdrawn, the Defendant must show that the plea was not made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily.

Judges understand that defendants can be confused at the time of an initial appearance. Will a judge be upset or give the defendant a greater sentence because the defendant pleaded not guilty then decided to change his plea? Usually not. Not guilty can mean вЂњIвЂ™m not sure, judge, I need time to speak with a lawyer.вЂќ Or it could mean вЂњWell I was there, but I donвЂ™t think I was actually intoxicated.вЂќ Or it could mean, вЂњIвЂ™m not sure what вЂinterference with official actsвЂ™ means, but IвЂ™d like to find out before I say вЂguilty.вЂ™ вЂќ It can mean that, but it also means everything else, aside from вЂњguilty.вЂќДЇor low-level misdemeanors (simple misdemeanors in Iowa) guilty pleas can be taken at the initial appearance, often times while the defendant is still in jail. Imagine a dartboard where the bullвЂ™s eye is вЂњguilty.вЂќ Everything else on the board is вЂњnot guilty.вЂќ Not guilty does not necessarily mean that a defendant actually did not commit the crime.