Libke v. State

208 N.W.2d 331, 60 Wis. 2d 121, 1973 Wisc. LEXIS 1321
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 29, 1973
DocketState 133
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 208 N.W.2d 331 (Libke v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Libke v. State, 208 N.W.2d 331, 60 Wis. 2d 121, 1973 Wisc. LEXIS 1321 (Wis. 1973).

Opinions

Wilkie, J.

The single issue involved in this review is whether the same standard applies to the consideration of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea before sentence as after ?

We conclude that trial courts should apply a somewhat different standard in assessing a motion to withdraw a guilty plea before sentence than after. It should be easier to withdraw a plea before sentence than after.1 The trial court erroneously applied the same standard in that he determined that a manifest injustice to the defendant must be established.

The different standard in assessing a motion to withdraw a guilty plea before sentence has been imposed has been spelled out in sub. (b) of sec. 2.1 of the American Bar Association Standards Relating to Pleas of Guilty, which this court expressly adopted in State v. Reppin.2 Sec. 2.1 (b) provides as follows:

“(b) In the absence of a showing that withdrawal is necessary to correct a manifest injustice, a defendant [125]*125may not withdraw his plea of guilty or nolo contendere as a matter of right once the plea has been accepted by the court. Before sentence, the court in its discretion may allow the defendant to withdraw his plea for any fair and just reason unless the prosecution has been substantially prejudiced by reliance upon the defendant’s plea.” (Emphasis added.) 3

In Reppin this court stated:

“Recently the American Bar Association Project on Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice issued a tentative draft on Standards Relating to Pleas of Guilty. These standards adopt the ‘manifest injustice’ test of Rule 32 (d) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and implements it with four factual situations which the advisory committee believes independently establish manifest injustice when proved by the defendant. We agree and adopt this standard. . . .” (Emphasis added.) 4

The commentary to the ABA plea-withdrawal standard makes it unequivocally clear that the “manifest injustice” test or criterion was not intended to apply where the motion to withdraw a guilty plea is made before sentence is imposed. The commentary to sec. 2.1 (a) states that “ [t] his language, it should be noted, says nothing about the standard to be employed before sentence.” 5 The commentary to the black-letter rule of sub. (b), quoted earlier,6 provides:

“The standard does recognize the generally acknowledged discretion of the judge to permit withdrawal before sentence even in the absence of a manifest injustice. This is a matter solely within the discretion of the judge; he may but need not grant the motion. In the [126]*126federal system, it is common to refer to this discretion as covering cases in which the defendant offers any ‘fair and just reason’ for withdrawal. . . .” (Emphasis added.) 7

While the limits of the trial court’s discretion and the meaning of the phrase “fair and just reason” are not adequately explicated in the ABA Standards themselves, a number of federal cases which apply Rule 32 (d) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (the acknowledged ancestor of the ABA plea-withdrawal standard) have discussed such rules.

The “fair and just reason” rule appears to have had its genesis in the federal system in Kercheval v. United States, wherein the United States Supreme Court held evidence of a guilty plea which is withdrawn cannot be introduced into evidence at a subsequent trial.8 In reaching its conclusion, the high court commented upon the nature of guilty pleas and observed that the timely withdrawal of such pleas does not raise the issue of guilt or innocence. According to the court:

“. . . The court in exercise of its discretion will permit one accused to substitute a plea of not guilty and have a trial if for any reason the granting of the privilege seems fair and just.” 9

Although courts interpreting Federal Rule 32 (d) vary somewhat as to whether plea withdrawals ought or ought not be liberally permitted, they unanimously concur that the withdrawal of pleas is not a matter of absolute right. This principle was recently stated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Fernandez: 10

[127]*127“. . . As we have held on previous occasions, a defendant has no absolute right to withdraw a plea of guilty, an application for such withdrawal being addressed to the sound discretion of the trial judge . . . .”

A number of federal cases also place the burden of establishing the grounds for a plea withdrawal, even before imposition of sentence, upon the defendant. This was forcefully stated in Everett v. United States:11

“A defendant who stands before a court freely admitting his attempted robbery does not remotely meet the standard of offering a ‘fair and just reason’ for withdrawing his plea of guilty prior to sentence. He must give some reason other than a desire to have a trial the basic purpose of which is to determine the very facts the defendant has just volunteered to the court on the record and while attended by his own counsel.”

Professor Wright suggests this placing the burden upon the defendant to offer good reasons for withdrawing his plea is “of very dubious soundness,” and urges that leave for such withdrawal should be “freely allowed.” 12

A majority of federal courts dealing with the question, regardless of where they place the burden of establishing cause for withdrawal of a guilty plea, concur with Professor Wright in opting for great liberality in permitting plea withdrawals requested before sentencing.13 In United States v. Young it was stated:

“The liberal rule for withdrawal of a guilty plea before sentence is consistent with the efficient administration of criminal justice. It reduces the number of ap[128]*128peals contesting the ‘knowing and voluntariness’ of a guilty plea, and avoids the difficulties of disentangling such claims. It also ensures that a defendant is not denied a right to trial by jury unless he clearly waives it.” 14

These cases, although adhering to the view that the issue is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court, do stress that the withdrawal motions made before sentencing are to be “freely allowed.” 15

The foregoing authorities make it quite clear that a different standard or criterion exists for guilty-plea-withdrawal requests which are made before rather than after sentence is imposed. The “manifest injustice” test is rooted in concepts of constitutional dimension. Thus, for example, the four situations of manifest injustice outlined in the ABA Standard all involve serious questions affecting the fundamental integrity of the plea.16

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Bluebook (online)
208 N.W.2d 331, 60 Wis. 2d 121, 1973 Wisc. LEXIS 1321, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/libke-v-state-wis-1973.