Opinion ID: 359553
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Advice as to the Nature of the Charges.

Text: 15 It should be obvious that when a defendant pleads guilty to more than one charge at a plea hearing Rule 11 does not require the district judge to repeat all the advice specified in Rule 11(c) before taking the plea on each charge. However, in order for the rule to accomplish its intended purpose it is essential for the district judge to inform the defendant of and determine that he understands the nature of each particular charge and the maximum possible penalty as to that charge, i. e., he should comply with Rule 11(c)(1) as to each individual charge for which a plea of guilty is offered. 16 The record reveals that the judge at the outset of the hearing went over the advice specified in Rule 11(c), except as to the nature of the charges element in subsection (1). Just as the district judge began to direct his inquiry to the charges in Count X, the defendant's attorney interrupted and offered to the court his understanding of the nature of the charge specifying what must be admitted by the defendant in seeking to plead guilty to the charge. Following statements by both the attorney and the defendant, the court directed a question to the defendant. We find by looking to the total circumstances surrounding the plea on this charge, including the defendant's obvious intelligence, the fact that he was represented by counsel, the relatively uncomplicated nature of the charge, his own statements at the hearing, in combination with the inquiry by the judge, that the record shows that the judge personally determined that the defendant understood the nature of the charges in Count X. We should make it clear that we are not approving procedures where the attorney's assurances regarding the meaning of the charge are found sufficient, nor merely because the defendant is well-educated, obviously intelligent, and represented by counsel that it is not necessary for the judge to personally determine that the defendant understands the charges for the rule clearly requires that this be done. However, we are mindful of the words of the Supreme Court in McCarthy, where it observed, In all such inquiries, '(m)atters of reality, and not mere ritual, should be controlling.'  394 U.S. at 468, n.20, 89 S.Ct. at 1171, n.20 (citation omitted.) In comparing our finding on this count with our earlier finding on Count I, it is clear that it is not the mere length of inquiry which satisfies the rule, nor is there any particular phrasing which must be used, nor must the questioning occur in any particular order; rather, what is required in order to comply with Rule 11(c)(1) is that the record of the colloquy between the defendant and the court reveal that the court personally determined that the defendant understood the nature of the charges against him. We find that the record as to the plea on Count X reveals that the district judge did make the necessary determination. 17