Should a Defendant Plead Guilty to Get Out of Jail?

The question sometimes comes up in my Iowa criminal law practice: Should I plead to get out of jail before sentencing? No. The only reason a defendant should plead guilty in exchange for an agreement that includes release pending sentencing is if they are (1) guilty; (2) know they will not commit subsequent offenses while on pretrial release; and (3) have reviewed with their attorney the law and the facts; and (4) come to a determination that further discovery, investigation, and litigation will be fruitless and lead to the same or worse result. At that point, it is the defendant's choice to plead guilty. If they do so, the Court will ask specific questions about:

1. The factual basis of the plea-- do the facts meet the elements of the offense charged?
2. Does the defendant actually believe they are legally guilty of the offense?
3. Do the minutes of testimony and trial information accurately reflect what happened?
4. Does the defendant understand the plea agreement for a recommendation to the court
5. Does the defendant know the judge is unbound by the plea agreement and can impose any legal sentence?
6. Does the defendant know the judge doesn't actually have to follow the recommendation to release the defendant following the plea?

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If the defendant understands all of the above and, also, that the worst case scenario is that the sentencing judge may sentence the defendant to the maximum sentence allowed by law regardless of the plea agreement between the parties, the defendant may accept a plea agreement that includes, as an aside, release pending sentencing.

A blog is not legal advice.