Withdrawing Your Guilty Plea in Georgia

In Georgia, the ease in which you can withdraw a guilty plea is determined by whether the Judge has already accepted your guilty plea and imposed sentence in your case. If a Judge has not sentenced you, you are free to withdraw your guilty plea at any time. After sentencing, you need the Judge to agree withdraw your guilty plea and there are rules and restriction on whether the Judge is able to do that. This blog will discuss how a guilty plea in Georgia is withdrawn both before and after sentencing.

Withdrawing Your Guilty Plea Prior to Sentencing

Georgia law provides than anyone can withdraw their guilty plea prior to judgment. O.C.G.A. 17-7-93(b) states: “At any time before judgment is pronounced, the accused person may withdraw the plea of "guilty" and plead "not guilty.” This allows a criminal defendant to change their mind about a plea up to the time the Judge imposes sentence. Georgians do not have to have a reason to change their plea from guilty to not guilty before sentencing, and there is nothing a Judge or prosecutor can do to force someone to take a plea.

In Georgia, there is one other circumstance where you might be able to withdraw your plea after sentence. In Georgia there are two types of guilty pleas, negotiated and non-negotiated. In the case of negotiated pleas, your attorney and the prosecutor have agreed on a sentence. If the Judge does not agree with the negotiated sentence, you have the option of withdrawing your plea at that time. A non-negotiated plea is also known as a blind plea. You have agreed to enter a plea but the terms have not been negotiated. You have to follow the Judge’s sentence. You cannot withdraw your plea after a Judge states his sentence in a non-negotiated plea.

Withdrawing Your Guilty Plea After Sentencing

Withdrawing your Guilty plea in Georgia is much more difficult after sentencing. The ability to withdraw your guilty plea in Georgia after sentencing is governed by the Uniform Superior Court Rules, specifically Rule 33.12. Rule 33.12 states:

(A) After sentence is pronounced, the judge should allow the defendant to withdraw a plea of guilty or nolo contendere whenever the defendant, upon a timely motion for withdrawal, proves that withdrawal is necessary to correct a manifest injustice.

(B) In the absence of a showing that withdrawal is necessary to correct a manifest injustice, a defendant may not withdraw a plea of guilty or nolo contendere as a matter of right once sentence has been pronounced by the judge.

A timely motion for withdrawal is a motion that is made within the same “term of court” as the sentence was pronounced. Terms of court vary by county, and a list of the terms of court for each county is located in Official Code of Georgia 15-6-3. Manifest injustice can mean many things under Georgia law. It could be that the plea was not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily made. It could mean that the defendant’s attorney did not properly advise the defendant about the terms of the plea and potential consequences outside of sentencing that could happen once the plea is entered. Often, attorneys not communicating with clients about potential deportation risks is a reason that a plea may be withdrawn.

Once you enter a guilty plea in Georgia, it is very difficult for it to be withdrawn. If your plea cannot be withdrawn, your only other remedies are potentially an appeal or a habeas corpus petition. If you are interested in withdrawing your guilty plea, you need to know that time is of the essence. Reach out to a Georgia criminal defense attorney immediately to protect your rights.