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Penal Code 1018 PC allows defendants in California to withdraw their guilty or no contest plea upon a showing of good cause. This includes situations where the person did not understand the circumstances of the plea, did not enter the plea freely and voluntarily, or was not represented by a competent attorney at the time.
Example: Bill entered a guilty plea to a robbery charge and admitted that he had personally used a gun during the commission of the crime. He believed he would receive a probation sentence for the charge in return for having made the admission. However, the court found him ineligible for probation based on the gun admission and ordered him to serve a mandatory state prison sentence.
If Bill had known that his gun admission would have denied him probation and mandated a prison sentence, he would not have pleaded guilty to the charge and instead would have taken the case to trial and left his fate to the jury. 1 2
In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys 3 explain the intricacies of withdrawing a guilty plea under Penal Code 1018 PC by addressing the following:
1. What is a Motion to Withdraw a Plea?
2. Good Cause for Withdrawing a Plea
2.1. You weren’t represented by an attorney at the time of your plea
2.2. You weren’t aware of the all of the consequences of the
plea2.3. You were coerced into the plea
3. What Happens if I Win My Motion to Withdraw a Plea?
4. What Happens if I Lose My Motion to Withdraw a Plea?
If, after reading this article, you would like more information, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.
1. What is a Motion to Withdraw a Plea?
Penal Code 1018 PC reads, in pertinent part,
“On application of the defendant at any time before judgment or within six months after an order granting probation is made if entry of judgment is suspended, the court may, and in case of a defendant who appeared without counsel at the time of the plea the court shall, for a good cause shown, permit the plea of guilty to be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty substituted.4”
Simply put, this law states that if you demonstrate “good cause” (discussed below in Section 2. Legal Grounds for Withdrawing a Plea) and file a Motion to Withdraw a Plea either (1) before you are sentenced, or (2) within six months of a probationary sentence (as opposed to a jail/prison sentence), then you
- must be given the opportunity to withdraw the plea and substitute it with a plea of not guilty if you pled guilty or no contest without an attorney or
- may be given an opportunity to do the same if you pled guilty or no contest while you were represented by an attorney.5
***It may be possible to withdraw your plea once you have been incarcerated; however, those proceedings will be handled differently: either via a Writ of Habeas Corpus (a petition that argues that you have been unlawfully detained) or through expungement proceedings (discussed below in Section 4.1 California’s expungement laws).
Generally speaking, you file a Motion to Withdraw a Plea when you realize that pleading guilty or nolo contendere “no contest”6 may not have been in your best interest. If, for example, you
- discover that you are going to incur an unexpected penalty,
- believe that your attorney was incompetent, or
- realize that you may be able to get a more favorable outcome by rolling the dice and trying again,
you could file a Motion to Withdraw a Plea. This motion asks the court to allow you to rewind the California criminal court process so that you may start fresh. But before a judge will grant this motion, you must establish good cause to withdraw your plea.
2. Good Cause for Withdrawing a Plea
California law does not allow you to withdraw your plea simply because you regret your decision to plead guilty… that is, unless your California criminal defense attorney can demonstrate good cause for doing so.
As it pertains to a Motion to Withdraw a Plea, “good cause” means that you entered your plea as the result of “incompetence, mistake, ignorance, inadvertence, or some other factor that demonstrates overreaching.”7 If you did not freely, knowingly and intelligently waive your constitutional rights, the Motion should be granted.
It’s not enough merely to claim that you have good cause… you must be able to prove it by clear and convincing evidence. “Clear and convincing evidence” is a legal standard by which must prove that it is substantially more likely than not that you would not have entered a guilty or no contest plea had you known all the facts at the time of the plea. Fortunately for the defense, this principle is supposed to be construed liberally to promote the interests of justice.8
Let’s look at some examples to better illustrate this concept.
2.1. You weren’t represented by an attorney at the time of your plea
It’s important to clarify that entering a guilty plea while you are not represented by an attorney does not in and of itself guarantee that you will be able to withdraw your plea. This is only the case if (in addition to representing yourself) you demonstrate good cause to support your Motion to Withdraw Your Plea.
This means that if you represented yourself even after the judge explained that you had a right to an attorney — and you clearly and unequivocally waived that right in a knowing and intelligent manner — you will not automatically prevail on your Motion.
However, if you represented yourself — but the judge didn’t confirm that you understood you had the right to a lawyer – the court will likely grant your Motion to Withdraw a Plea. The other benefit here is that if you represented yourself, you could claim that you didn’t fully understand all of the consequences of your plea, which brings us to…
2.2. You weren’t aware of the all of the consequences of the plea
There are a number of circumstances where this position could come into play. If there is any significant part of a sentence that you were unaware of at the time you pled guilty, you should prevail on your Motion to Withdraw a Plea. The following are some common examples.
- You weren’t aware of a mandatory jail or prison term
Referring back to the example at the beginning of the article, the defendant wasn’t aware that by entering a guilty plea to a “robbery with a gun” charge, he was disqualifying himself from probation and ensuring that he would be sent to the California state prison.
Although he did have a gun with him during the time of the robbery, he claims he never used it or removed it from his waistband. If he had known that a plea would mean a mandatory prison sentence, he would have let a jury decide whether he was, in fact, guilty of personally using a gun …which is the aggravated part of the robbery charge that triggered the prison sentence.
The court and probation department believed that defendant would have been a good candidate for probation had the gun enhancement not rendered him ineligible, which helped prove the good cause necessary to prevail on the Motion.
- You weren’t aware of a professional licensing suspension/revocation
Let’s say that you are a doctor. You are arrested for driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.20%. You decide to plead no contest to driving under the influence based on the fact that you will not have to serve any jail time, despite the fact that your blood alcohol concentration was very high.
A few weeks after your plea, you find out that the medical board wants to revoke your license based on your driving under the influence conviction. Under these circumstances, it would be beneficial to file a Motion to Withdraw a Plea so that you could either
- attempt to plea bargain for a reduced charge that will not affect your professional license, or
- take your case to trial in the hope of securing an acquittal.
As Rancho Cucamonga criminal defense attorney Michael Scafiddi9 explains, “Oftentimes convictions affect professional licenses in California …a fact which many lawyers fail to tell their clients when they engage in plea bargaining or sentencing. If you are a professional… and at the time you entered a guilty or no contest plea were not aware that your license could be at risk… you may prevail on this type of motion.”
- You weren’t aware of the immigration consequences
Consider a real case. Jose Giron — a lawfully admitted permanent resident alien — pled guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Neither he nor the court realized that a plea to possession of marijuana would subject him to deportation. After being notified by the INS that that was the case, he filed his Motion to Withdraw a Plea which was successful.10
If you plead guilty to a case — and are unaware that the conviction may trigger immigration consequences — the court would likely allow you to withdraw your plea.
2.3. You were coerced into the plea
If you plead guilty or no contest because you are threatened, coerced or lured into doing so, the court should grant your Motion to Withdraw a Plea. This is because California law provides that guilty pleas must be entered into freely and voluntarily.
A perfect example lies in the real case of Steven Sandoval Jr. He pled guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge that required he serve a 27-year state prison sentence. After pleading, Sandoval filed a winning Motion to Withdraw a Plea because (1) a co-defendant… a fellow gang member… threatened to hurt him in prison if he didn’t plead guilty, and (2) the judge improperly pressured him to plead guilty.11
This Motion was granted based on the long-established rule that “guilty pleas obtained through ‘coercion, terror, inducements, subtle or blatant threats’ are involuntary”12 …and are therefore unlawful.
2.4. You were represented by an incompetent lawyer
Ineffective assistance of counsel is one of the most common legal ground for filing a Motion to Withdraw a Plea. If, for example, it turns out that the attorney representing you at the time of your plea failed to
- properly investigate your case, or
- present enough mitigating circumstances to obtain a less severe sentence, or
- file and argue the appropriate motions,
you may be entitled to withdraw your plea. The key issue here is whether or not your lawyer’s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. This is a difficult… though by no means impossible… argument to present, as courts don’t like to second-guess an attorney’s tactical decisions.
What’s more is that the decision as to whether or not to plead guilty is one for you to make… even if your attorney disagrees with it… as long as you voluntarily and knowingly enter the plea.
But if you can prove that your attorney truly didn’t provide a reasonable level of guidance or representation… and encouraged you to take what turns out to be a “bad” deal… your Motion to Withdraw a Plea should be granted.
And although it may seem obvious, when you are looking to withdraw your plea based on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, you should seek representation from a new attorney to handle the Motion. If you were represented by a public defender, the court should appoint a new attorney for you to file the motion.13
But be aware that if the new attorney doesn’t believe that you have proper grounds for filing the motion… and therefore believes it is a frivolous one… he/she is not required to file it.14
2.5 You were prejudiced by a language barrier
If you used an interpreter at the time of your plea… but that interpreter wasn’t exclusively interpreting for you as he/she was also interpreting for other defendants or witnesses… you may be entitled to withdraw your plea if your language barrier caused you to plead guilty to a charge to which you otherwise may not have pled.15
3. What Happens if I Win My Motion to Withdraw My Plea?
If you win your Motion to Withdraw a Plea, it’s as if you’re starting over at your arraignment. As a result, any “deals” that you had with the prosecution are voidable at their option.16 This means that if, for example, you pled guilty to trespass in exchange for the dismissal of a grand theft charge, the prosecutor has the right to reinstate all the original charges, including the grand theft.
This is the risk you run when you withdraw your plea. However, if you’re filing a Motion to Withdraw a Plea, chances are it is because you believe you will receive a more favorable outcome with a new deal… or a new trial… than you did under the existing plea and sentencing.
4. What Happens if I Lose My Motion to Withdraw My Plea?
If you lose your Motion to Withdraw a Plea, you will be bound to the terms of your sentence. At this point, you have a couple of options. You could (1) file an appeal, or (2) ultimately try to expunge the conviction.
4.1. The California appeals process
The California appeals process allows you to appeal the court’s decision to deny your Motion to Withdraw a Plea. If you can demonstrate that the judge who denied your motion
- ruled based on a legal error, or
- abused his/her discretion,
you could potentially win at the appellate level.
Should you choose to file an appeal, you should consult with an experienced California appellate attorney who is familiar with the specific timeframes and deadlines that govern appeals. A skilled appeals attorney will also know the most persuasive arguments to present on your behalf.
4.2. California’s expungement process
If you cannot withdraw your plea, you may ultimately be able to expunge the record of your California criminal conviction. You file for an expungement after you have fully completed your probation sentence and have no additional pending charges.
If successful, your case will essentially be erased from your criminal record and… with very limited exceptions… you will honestly be able to state that you were never convicted of the offense.
Another option is to petition the court for an early termination of probation. This is a benefit in its own right, since you cannot commit a probation violation if you are not on probation. However, the greater benefit is that once you have completed probation, you can ask the court to expunge your conviction.
Contact us for help…
If you or loved one is in need of help with withdrawing a plea and you are looking to hire an attorney for representation, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a free consultation in office or by phone. We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California.
Also see our articles on “Can a plea deal be reversed?” and “Can you withdraw a plea after sentencing?”
For information about withdrawing a guilty plea in Nevada, go to our article on withdrawing a guilty plea in Nevada.
Legal References:
1 People v. Caban (1983) 148 Cal.App.3d 706.
2 California Penal Code 1018 PC – Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea – Defendant to plead in person; refusal of certain pleas; change of plea; corporate defendants; construction of section. (“Unless otherwise provided by law, every plea shall be entered or withdrawn by the defendant himself or herself in open court. No plea of guilty of a felony for which the maximum punishment is death, or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, shall be received from a defendant who does not appear with counsel, nor shall that plea be received without the consent of the defendant’s counsel. No plea of guilty of a felony for which the maximum punishment is not death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole shall be accepted from any defendant who does not appear with counsel unless the court shall first fully inform him or her of the right to counsel and unless the court shall find that the defendant understands the right to counsel and freely waives it, and then only if the defendant has expressly stated in open court, to the court, that he or she does not wish to be represented by counsel. On application of the defendant at any time before judgment or within six months after an order granting probation is made if entry of judgment is suspended, the court may, and in case of a defendant who appeared without counsel at the time of the plea the court shall, for a good cause shown, permit the plea of guilty to be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty substituted. Upon indictment or information against a corporation a plea of guilty may be put in by counsel. This section shall be liberally construed to effect these objects and to promote justice.”)
3 Our California criminal defense attorneys have local Los Angeles law offices in Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Pomona, Torrance, Van Nuys, West Covina, and Whittier. We have additional law offices conveniently located throughout the state in Orange County, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Jose, Oakland, the San Francisco Bay area, and several nearby cities.
4 See Motion to Withdraw Plea, endnote 2, above.
5 People v. Cruz (1974) 12 Cal.3d 562, 566. (“The general rule governs this case. A motion to withdraw a guilty plea must be supported by a showing of good cause, whether the defendant was represented by counsel when entering the plea or waived his right to representation. The distinction drawn between the two classes is this: The requisite showing of good cause having been made, the court Must grant a withdrawal motion made by a defendant who entered his plea without counsel, whereas the court May grant a withdrawal motion made by a defendant who entered his plea with counsel.”)
6 People v. Ramirez (2006) 141 Cal.App.4th 1501, 1506. (“Section 1018 provides that “[o]n application of the defendant at any time before judgment… the court may … for good cause shown, permit the plea of guilty to be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty substituted…. This section shall be liberally construed to effect these objects and to promote justice.” A no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea for this purpose. (§ 1016, subd. (3); People v. Rivera (1987) 196 Cal.App.3d 924, 926–927, 242 Cal.Rptr. 191.)”)
7 People v. Griffin (1950) 100 Cal.App.2d 546, 548.
8 See Motion to Withdraw Plea, endnote 2, above.
9 Rancho Cucamonga criminal defense attorney Michael Scafiddi uses his former experience as an Ontario Police Officer to represent clients in San Bernardino, Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, Banning, Fontana, Joshua Tree, Barstow and Victorville.
10 People v. Superior Court (Giron) (1974) 11 Cal.3d 793.
11 People v. Sandoval (2006) 140 Cal.App.4th 111.
12 See same at 124.
13 People v. Smith (1993) 6 Cal.4th 684, 695. (“A defendant is entitled to competent representation at all times, including presentation of a new trial motion or motion to withdraw a plea. For the reasons identified in People v. Fosselman, supra, 33 Cal.3d at pages 582-583, justice is expedited when the issue of counsel’s effectiveness can be resolved promptly at the trial level. In those cases in which counsel was ineffective, this is best determined early. Thus, when a defendant satisfies the trial court that adequate grounds exist, substitute counsel should be appointed. Substitute counsel could then investigate a possible motion to withdraw the plea or a motion for new trial based upon alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. Whether, after such appointment, any particular motion should actually be made will, of course, be determined by the new attorney.”)
14 People v. Brown (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 1469, 1472. (“A defendant may move to withdraw his plea, at any time before judgment, on a showing of good cause. (Pen.Code, § 1018.) “ ‘ “[T]he withdrawal of such a plea rests in the sound discretion of the trial court and may not be disturbed unless the trial court has abused its discretion.” ‘ ” ( People v. Wharton (1991) 53 Cal.3d 522, 585, 280 Cal.Rptr. 631, 809 P.2d 290.) Although criminal defendants are entitled to competent representation in the presentation of a motion to withdraw a plea, appointed counsel may properly decline to bring a meritless motion.”)
15 People v. Aguilar (1984) 35 Cal.3d 785,790. (“Article I, section 14 of the California Constitution was amended in 1974 by vote of the electorate to provide that ‘[a] person unable to understand English who is charged with a crime has a right to an interpreter throughout the proceedings.‘ (Italics added.)… The trial court correctly appointed an interpreter for Mata Aguilar, thus complying with the portion of the Constitution which guarantees that an interpreter be provided. However, the trial court failed to follow the last three words of the constitutional provision – ‘throughout the proceedings‘ – when it deprived Mata Aguilar of that right by using his interpreter to translate for the prosecution’s witnesses. California’s Constitution does not provide a half measure of protection. Rather, it requires that when an interpreter is appointed for a criminal defendant, that interpreter must be provided to aid the accused during the whole course of the proceedings.”)
16 People v. Superior Court (Garcia) 131 Cal.App.3d 256, (“Familiar and basic principles of law reinforced by simple justice require that when an accused withdraws his guilty plea the status quo ante must be restored. When a plea agreement has been rescinded the parties are placed by the law in the position each had before the contract was entered into. ( In re Sutherland (1972) 6 Cal.3d 666, 672 [100 Cal.Rptr. 129, 493 P.2d 857].) Here defendant agreed to plead guilty to murder in order to obtain a reciprocal benefit: the forbearance of the prosecutor in not amending the information to seek the death penalty. When a defendant withdraws his plea, the prosecutor is no longer bound; counts dismissed may be restored. ( People v. Collins (1978) 21 Cal.3d 208, 215 [145 Cal.Rptr. 686, 577 P.2d 1026].)”)