Withdrawing Your Plea Under Connecticut Law
If you have been charged with a crime and are considering whether to enter a plea to the charge(s), make sure you understand what to do before doing so. As a general note, most criminal cases in Connecticut result in a plea agreement. However, that does not mean that it is not important to know the procedure by which a plea is accepted. After all, you are giving up certain constitutional rights in entering the plea.
You may withdraw your plea of guilty or nolo contendere as a matter of right until the plea has been accepted by the court. See Connecticut Practice Book Sec. 39-26. After acceptance, the court shall allow you to withdraw upon proof of one of the following: the plea was accepted without substantial compliance with Practice Book Sec. 39-19; the plea was involuntary, or it was entered without knowledge of the nature of the charge or without knowledge that the sentence actually imposed could be imposed; the sentence exceeds that specfied in a plea agreement which had been previosly accepted, or in a plea agreement on which the court had deferred its decision to accept or reject the agreement at the time the plea of guilty was entered; the plea resulted from the denial of effective assistance of counsel; there was no factual basis for the plea; or the plea was not entered by a person authorized to act for a corporate defendant or was not subsequently ratified by a corporate defendant. See Connecticut Practice Book Sec. 39-27.
As always, you should consult with a Connecticut attorney or lawyer when arrested or charged with a crime in Connecticut.
