Opinion ID: 590960
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Guilty Plea entered voluntarily

Text: 24 The court must look at the circumstances of each case to determine whether a plea has actually been entered voluntarily and intelligently. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 56-57, 106 S.Ct. 366, 369-370, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985). When determining the voluntariness of a guilty plea, the court may consider whether the advice of counsel was within the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases. McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771, 90 S.Ct. 1441, 1449, 25 L.Ed.2d 763 (1970). The trial court shall determine whether the plea was voluntary based on the balancing of the defendant's right to effective assistance of counsel and the court's duty to assure that the defense counsel maintains a proper standard of performance. Id. 25 Neal asserts a lack of understanding of the nature of the proceedings because of nervous anxiety and claims that he lacked the mental capacity to plead to the charges. There was no evidence in the record to support his allegation that he had lacked mental capacity. Without that proper foundation, the guilty plea must remain valid. 26 Finally, Neal alleges that his plea was entered only at the urging of counsel. Neal failed to show that trial counsel's advice was not within the range of competence demanded of criminal attorneys. Although criminal attorneys frequently consider pleas, no information was offered as to which of the attorney's comments or actions resulted in Neal's involuntary guilty plea. Merely accepting a guilty plea does not constitute involuntariness. 27