Opinion ID: 1843657
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Best Interest Pleas

Text: Next, we examine the nature of Calhoun's guilty pleas, the so-called best interest plea. In the instant case, the record bears out that Calhoun was unwilling to admit his guilt to the offenses charged. At the Boykin hearing, his then attorney informed the court that Calhoun ha[d] expressed concerns to [him] about each and every fact presented by the district attorney. (R. at 295). The district court judge then questioned Calhoun, as follows: Even though you don't agree with all the facts, you believe that it's in your best interest to go ahead and enter this guilty plea even though you don't agree with all the facts. Is that correct? Calhoun replied, That is correct. (R. at 296). At that point, the judge accepted the best interest pleas. The best interest or Alford plea, which derives from the U.S. Supreme Court case, North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970), is one in which the defendant pleads guilty while maintaining his innocence. In that case, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a defendant may plead guilty, without foregoing his protestations of innocence, if the plea represents a voluntary and intelligent choice among the alternative courses of action open to defendant[,] ... especially where the defendant was represented by competent counsel whose advice was that the plea would be to the defendant's advantage. Id. at 31, 91 S.Ct. at 164. For the reasons discussed above, we conclude that Calhoun's best interest pleas did not represent an intelligent choice among the alternative courses of action open to defendant. Although Calhoun was aware that he could plead not guilty to the charges, he was not properly advised of the likely outcome of a trial by an attorney who was well-versed in his case. Based upon the content of Young's motion to terminate counsel, it is reasonable to conclude that Calhoun's attorney had not thoroughly investigated the possible defenses that Calhoun may have had to the charges at the time that he advised Calhoun to plead guilty. Therefore, Calhoun's decision to forego a trial based upon his attorney's assessment that there was no hope for Calhoun at trial cannot be characterized as an intelligent choice.