Opinion ID: 854073
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Refusal to Accept Plea of Guilty

Text: Finally, Elsten maintains that the trial court erred by refusing to accept his plea of guilty but mentally ill during the trial. The State counters that an insufficient factual basis existed for the plea because there was no evidence of mental illness. We agree with the State. For a trial court to accept a plea of guilty but mentally ill, a sufficient factual basis must exist for the decision. Rhoades v. State, 675 N.E.2d 698, 700 (Ind.1996) (citing Ind.Code Ann. § 35-35-1-3 (West 1993)). On appeal, we presume that the court's decision was correct and review only for an abuse of discretion. Coomer v. State, 652 N.E.2d 60, 62 (Ind.1995). After Elsten asked to plead guilty but mentally ill, the trial court conducted a hearing to determine whether a sufficient factual basis existed for the plea. The court had three reports from clinical psychologists, two of which stated Elsten was not suffering from psychological disorders. [4] Upon reviewing the evidence and testimony, it concluded that the record was not sufficient for him to accept the plea. This was not an abuse of the court's discretion. Moreover, had the trial court permitted Elsten to plead guilty, he would have stood in the same place he stood after the jury rendered its verdictconvicted of murder and eligible to argue mitigating circumstances like mental impairment to the sentencing judge. See Douglas v. State, 663 N.E.2d 1153, 1156 (Ind.1996).