Learn about the issues that come up when a criminal defendant pleads guilty.
This lesson will address issues related to guilty pleas. The vast majority of criminal defendants plead guilty rather than have trials. See Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S.134, 143 (2012) (noting that 97 percent of federal convictions and 94 percent of state convictions resulted from guilty pleas). The entry of a guilty plea is an important event for a criminal defendant. With certain exceptions, a guilty plea waives not only the defendant’s right to a trial and associated rights...