State v. Lovell
Annotate this CaseDefendant Douglas Lovell was convicted of aggravated murder. Following the entry of his guilty plea, Lovell moved to withdraw it. The district court initially held the motion was untimely, but the Supreme Court reversed that holding and remanded the case. In the district court, Lovell argued he had good cause to withdraw his plea because (1) the trial court failed to strictly comply with Utah R. Crim. P. 11(e), which sets out the requirements for a lawful guilty plea, and (2) there was good cause for him to withdraw his plea because his trial counsel was ineffective. The district court (1) held that the trial court complied with rule 11(e) and even if it did not, the error did not amount to good cause to allow Lovell to withdraw his plea because Lovell did not show that but for the error he would not have pled guilty; and (2) rejected Lovell's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court, holding that the trial court's failure to strictly comply with rule 11(e) constituted good cause to allow Lovell to withdraw his guilty plea.
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