Competence To Plead Guilty
It has been estimated that approximately 90 percent of all criminal cases in the United States are settled through guilty pleas, rather than a trial.
In Godinez v. Moran, 1993, the Supreme Court held that the competency standard for pleading guilty or waiving the right to counsel is the same as the competency standard for proceeding to trial as established in Dusky v. United States. A higher standard of competency is not required.
Read more about this topic: Competency Evaluation (law)
Famous quotes containing the words plead guilty, competence, plead and/or guilty:
“Carlyle must undoubtedly plead guilty to the charge of mannerism. He not only has his vein, but his peculiar manner of working it. He has a style which can be imitated, and sometimes is an imitator of himself.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
—Bible: New Testament, 2 Corinthians 3:4-6.
“‘Tis base to plead the unhappy prisoner’s cause,
With eloquence that’s bought.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
“The difference between guilt and shame is very clear—in theory. We feel guilty for what we do. We feel shame for what we are. A person feels guilt because he did something wrong. A person feels shame because he is something wrong. We may feel guilty because we lied to our mother. We may feel shame because we are not the person our mother wanted us to be.”
—Lewis B. Smedes, U.S. psychologist, educator. Shame and Grace: Healing the Shame We Don’t Deserve, ch. 2, Harper (1993)