Tigue v. Commonwealth, 2009-CA-000080 & 2009-CA-001279 – rendered September 9, 2011
Reversing and Remanding
The defendant filed RCr 11.42 and CR 60.02 motions and the Court of Appeals granted relief when it held that the defendant was deprived of counsel at a critical stage of the proceeding when counsel either refused or failed to file a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The Court found that the filing of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea is a critical stage of the proceeding, and the absence of counsel at a critical stage of the proceeding is a per se Sixth Amendment violation warranting reversal of a conviction or sentence without analysis for prejudice or harmless error.
In light of the importance of counsel’s assistance in properly framing the issues and presenting those issues to the court, as well as developing any factual support and being knowledgeable about the requirement of a written motion and the elements considered by a trial court on a motion to withdraw a guilty plea, we agree with these state and federal courts. Thus, we hold that Tigue was deprived of counsel at a critical stage of the proceeding when counsel either refused or failed to file a motion to withdraw Tigue’s guilty plea.
We find that the filing of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea is a critical stage of the proceeding, and it is well-established that the “absence of counsel at a critical stage of a criminal proceeding is a per se Sixth Amendment violation warranting reversal of a conviction, a sentence, or both, as applicable, without analysis for prejudice or harmless error.”
Contributed by Steven Buck
