Court Opinion

ID: 9763087
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:36:33.619728+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:39.308751
License: Public Domain

McEWEN, Judge,
concurring:
The esteemed author of the majority view quite aptly expresses the principles which presently prevail and require this Court to conclude that appellant must be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea. I write but to echo my conviction that a bald assertion of innocence should not by itself constitute fair and just reason for allowing appellant to withdraw a guilty plea prior to sentencing but, instead, that:
a pre-sentence assertion of innocence may compose the required “fair and just reason” provided that the totality of circumstances reflected by the record does not establish otherwise.
*226Commonwealth v. Cole, 387 Pa.Super. 328, 338-39, 564 A.2d 203, 208 (1989) (Concurring Opinion by McEwen, J.). Such a standard would more wisely serve reason, not to mention the citizenry, without intruding upon the fundamental rights of those defendants who present a valid basis for withdrawal.