Can a guilty plea be taken back?

The answer is "yes," but under very strict circumstances related to things like his assertion of

innocence, undue influence, didn't know or understand what he was doing, etc. If your son's

father was charged with 1st degree Armed Robbery, don't forget that he's exposed to a maximum

of twenty (20) years in prison after an unfavorable verdict. And this charge comes under what is

known as the "No Early Release Act" or "85% rule." This means that, if your son's father goes to

trial and gets an unfavorable verdict, he must serve 85% of whatever sentence he is given by the

judge before he goes before the Parole Board for the first time. What's crucial are the facts in his

case. On the other hand, if your son's father is truly innocent, my advice is to FIGHT the charges all

the way! In the end, this decision must be made by him. It's his life. Call me at (732)932-7226

(office) or (732)710-0004 (cell).

     If your son's father is really convinced of his innocence, he can make a try at withdrawing his

guilty plea.  This past February the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that under certain

circumstances

an earlier guilty plea may be withdrawn  (2-4-09 State v. Tony L. Slater (A-72-07)). The court listed

the following four factors to be considered:

1) whether the defendant has asserted a claim of innocence backed up with some evidence that the innocence claim has substance;

2)  his reasons for withdrawal (once again, why does he want to change his plea--is it that he
feels he was unduly influenced, or that he really is innocent and can show it, or  that he didn't understand what he was doing);

3) the existence of a plea bargain; (I'm assuming that your son's father didn't make a plea
bargain because if he did, that will definitely harm his chances);

4) whether withdrawal could result in unfair prejudice to the state or unfair advantage to the accused (this would be more relevant in a change from "not guilty" to "guilty" plea, because the state may have already done a great deal of pretrial preparation).

   The Court said that not every one of the four factors needed to be met, but the substance of

the reasons and results of withdrawal must be must be balanced as a whole.  Oh, and definitely, if

at all possible, you son's father needs to change his public defender. Also, the fact that your son's

father has little education and may really have not realized what he was

giving away may act in his favor.