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Plea Withdrawal – Discretion of Court

By: Derek Hawkins//June 22, 2016//

Plea Withdrawal – Discretion of Court

By: Derek Hawkins//June 22, 2016//

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Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Richard J. Sulla

Case No.: 2013AP2316-CR

Focus: Plea Withdrawal – Discretion of Court

Evidentiary hearing not required to determine whether pleas were made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily.

“To be clear, a circuit court has the discretion to deny a defendant’s motion——even a properly pled motion——to withdraw his plea without holding an evidentiary hearing if the record conclusively demonstrates that the defendant is not entitled to relief. With this framework in mind, we move on to consider whether the postconviction court, here, was required to hold an evidentiary hearing on Sulla’s motion before it determined whether Sulla had entered his pleas in a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary fashion. To answer this question we must discuss (1) whether Sulla’s motion to withdraw his plea alleged facts which, if true, would entitle him to relief; (2) whether the record conclusively demonstrates that Sulla is not entitled to relief; and (3) whether the postconviction court erroneously exercised its discretion when it denied Sulla’s postconviction motion to withdraw his plea without holding an evidentiary hearing.”

Reversed

Concurring: BRADLEY, ABRAHAMSON

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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