A Pennsylvania Guilty Plea Petition is a legal document used in the state of Pennsylvania to enter a plea of guilty in a criminal case. This petition is signed by the defendant in the presence of a judge and can include an agreement to accept a plea bargain or to enter a plea of guilty without a plea bargain. There are two main types of Pennsylvania Guilty Plea Petition: 1) General Guilty Plea Petition and 2) Guilty Plea with an Agreement. The General Guilty Plea Petition is a document where the accused admits to the charges and is willing to accept any sentence imposed by the court. The Guilty Plea with an Agreement Petition is essentially the same, but with the additional agreement that the accused is willing to accept a plea bargain offered by the prosecutor. The plea bargain may include reduced charges or a lighter sentence.
Pennsylvania Guilty Plea Petition
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FAQ
Both an Alford plea and a no contest plea are the functional equivalents of a guilty plea. A defendant who enters an Alford plea pleads guilty but claims to be innocent. With a no contest plea, a defendant accepts punishment but doesn't admit guilt. Both kinds of plea result in convictions.
Once the judge accepts the plea, the defendant may be sentenced immediately or sentencing may be held pending a pre-sentence investigation into the defendant's background. If sentencing is delayed, the defendant is later returned to court and sentenced.
Once sentenced, the defendant has the right to an appeal. If the appeal is first done in the Common Pleas Court and denied, the defendant may then appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. If the defendant's appeal to the Superior Court is unsuccessful, the defendant can appeal to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Alford. An Alford plea, also known as a "best-interests plea," registers a formal admission of guilt towards charges in criminal court while the defendant simultaneously expresses their innocence toward those same charges.
An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence and does not admit to the criminal act they are accused of, but admits that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to persuade a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty, and thus agrees to be treated as guilty.
A conviction under an Alford plea may be used as a conviction for later sentencing purposes. However, one state supreme court has held that an Alford plea, unlike a criminal trial, does not provide a full and fair hearing on the issues in the case, and therefore does not preclude later litigation of the issues.
Defendants usually enter an Alford guilty plea if they want to avoid a possible worse sentence were they to lose the case against them at trial. It affords defendants the ability to accept a plea bargain, while maintaining innocence.
A plea of guilty means that the act with which you are charged is prohibited by law, that you committed the act, and that you have no defense or excuse for the act.