Jolly v. Wall
Annotate this CaseDefendant entered pleas of nolo contendere to three counts of second-degree child molestation, and the hearing justice accepted Defendant's plea. Five months later, Defendant filed an application for postconviction relief, claiming that his conviction should be vacated because his plea was involuntary and because he had been denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel. The superior court dismissed Defendant's application. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant voluntarily pleaded to the charges; (2) Defendant's attorney did not render ineffective assistance in pressuring him to plead to the charges or in failing to advise Defendant to inform the court that he had ingested prescription medication during the plea hearing; and (3) the hearing justice did not err in failing to draw an adverse inference against the state based on its failure to call upon Defendant's plea attorney to testify at the postconviction-relief hearing.
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