Court Opinion

ID: 9681621
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:53:29.704823+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:34.872527
License: Public Domain

SEILER, Judge
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
It may be that failure to comply with Rule 25.04 is satisfied by subsequent proof that defendant is in fact guilty, but I doubt it. As the majority opinion points out, there was here “a total lack of any attempt at compliance with our rules” at the time the pleas were accepted. I would, therefore, reverse and remand as to all three cases. I believe Rule 25.04 is sound and should be scrupulously observed. I think it is more important to the administration of justice in the long run and will bring about greater respect for the courts and thereby, hopefully, increased respect for the rule of law in all levels of our society, to insist on strict compliance with Rule 25.04, than it is to require compliance with it only in cases where defendant does not subsequently admit guilt.
In a way Rule 25.04 and Rule 27.25 are in conflict. One imposes careful scrutiny and explanation before accepting a plea; the other, it turns out, permits its disregard if defendant is guilty. The effect is to undermine Rule 25.04 and I do not believe this is sound.