State v. Barnes
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, holding that Defendant had a reasonable and legitimate basis to withdraw his guilty plea.
Pursuant to a plea deal from the state, Defendant pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Defendant subsequently filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, asserting that his attorneys did not review all the discovery with him. The trial court denied the motion, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a defendant has a reasonable and legitimate basis to withdraw his guilty plea when, before sentencing, he discovers evidence that his attorney withheld from him and that would have negated his decision to plead guilty had he known about it; and (2) the trial court erred by not granting Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.