There are many reasons why you may want to withdraw your guilty plea to your California criminal charge, but you must have legal grounds to do so or the court will not allow it. An experienced California defense lawyer from The Kavinoky Law Firm can review your case and determine whether it may be possible to withdraw your guilty plea and seek a more favorable outcome to your criminal charge.

Withdrawing a guilty plea in a California criminal case is far simpler if it’s done prior to sentencing or within six months of entering the plea. Asking the court to allow you to withdraw your guilty plea after sentencing is much more complex and generally requires a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

 In order to successfully petition the court to allow you to withdraw your guilty plea in your California criminal case, you and your defense lawyer must demonstrate good cause.

Under California law, "good cause" to set aside a guilty plea exists when the defendant demonstrates that the plea was made as a result of “mistake, ignorance, inadvertence, or some other factor that demonstrates overreaching.”

Good cause to withdraw a guilty plea in a California criminal case can exist in many forms. For example, you may not have been represented by an attorney when you pleaded guilty, or your lawyer may not have represented you adequately.

You may not have understood the consequences of your guilty plea. For example, you may have pleaded guilty to a California criminal offense without understanding that the crime carried a mandatory prison term. If you can demonstrate that you didn’t understand any aspect of pleading guilty, the court must allow you to withdraw your plea and restart your California criminal case.

Establishing that your constitutional rights were violated is another reason why you can be allowed to withdraw your plea in your California criminal case. Although the court requires defendants to waive the right to make many constitutional challenges prior to accepting a guilty plea, under certain circumstances you can still petition the court to withdraw your plea.

There are consequences to withdrawing a guilty plea in a California criminal case – namely, your case will be restarted and you and your defense lawyer must prepare to either negotiate a more favorable plea bargain or defend the charges in court. However, a skilled attorney will do everything possible to ensure that you obtain the fairest possible outcome.

If you pled guilty to a California criminal offense in state or federal court and now regret your actions, there may be legal grounds for you to withdraw your plea and seek a more favorable outcome. A knowledgeable California defense lawyer from The Kavinoky Law Firm is ready to thoroughly analyze your case and determine whether you may be able to withdraw your plea and seek justice again. Please contact us today at 1.877.4NO.CUFFS for a free consultation.