Brief Fact Summary. Respondent sought to have his plea agreement vacated on the grounds that it was involuntary.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. A “plea [can] not be voluntary in the sense that it constituted an intelligent admission that [the defendant] committed the offense unless the defendant received ‘real notice of the true nature of the charge against him.’”
That he would not have pleaded except for the opportunity to limit the possible penalty does not necessarily demonstrate that the plea of guilty was not the product of a free and rational choice, especially where the defendant was represented by competent counsel whose advice was that the plea would be to the defendant's advantage.
View Full Point of LawIssue. Whether the court “should examine the totality of the circumstances and determine whether the substance of the charge.