According to the Utah Code, Section 77-2a-1: “‘Plea in abeyance’ means an order by a court, upon motion of the prosecution and the defendant, accepting a plea of guilty or of no contest from the defendant but not, at that time, entering judgment of conviction against him nor imposing sentence upon him on condition that he comply with specific conditions as set forth in a plea in abeyance agreement.” In general, a Plea in Abeyance is where you admit guilt and the judge holds your guilty plea and gives you a probationary period to see if you will screw up again. If you successfully complete the terms of your Plea in Abeyance, your criminal case will be dismissed and you will not have a criminal conviction for that charge. A Plea in Abeyance is usually in writing and signed by the judge, prosecutor, defense counsel and yourself. It sets forth the terms of your probation, any fine, any drug and alcohol treatment or restitution. In Utah Justice Courts, usually Pleas in Abeyance do not require supervised probation, just court probation for 12 months. This is not the clearest definition in the world, but basically it means this: If the prosecution agrees (and you qualify for a plea in abeyance depending on certain factors), you would enter a guilty plea to your charge(s) subject to the plea in abeyance agreement. Typically then, your guilty plea would not be entered against you. So you plead guilty, but that guilty verdict doesn’t take effect. In essence, the court would take your guilty plea and stick it in a drawer for a certain period of time (often a year). During that year, you would be required to comply with certain requirements. Those requirements often include: no new violations of law for that 12-month period (sometimes minor traffic violations are permissible); paying certain fines or fees associated with the plea in abeyance; and other conditions, which may include (depending on your circumstances) various classes or community service. If you do all the things you are required to do during that 12-month period (or however long the court requires), your case would then be dismissed. In other words, the charges would be “dropped.” Your guilty plea would go away, and so would the case against you. It’s important to note that some crimes, and some individuals, are not eligible for a plea in abeyance. DUI charges do not qualify for pleas in abeyance. Likewise, sex offenses involving a victim under 14 years old do not qualify for pleas in abeyance. Finally, the prosecutor in a case must approve of the plea in abeyance. If the prosecutor doesn’t approve, then a plea in abeyance isn’t available. Often, prosecutors don’t approve of pleas in abeyance depending on the nature and severity of the particular charges; whether or not the person has had a plea in abeyance in the past (and if they successfully completed it); the individual’s particular criminal history; or (4) various other factors specific to each case. Normally you would have to wait 3 years for a Class C Misdemeanor, 4 years for a Class B Misdemeanor and so forth. Pleas in Abeyance have expedited Utah expungement provisions. There are expedited provisions for a jury not guilty verdict and when your criminal case is dismissed, either by completing the terms of your Utah Plea in Abeyance, or through outright dismissal. Often, statutory sentencing schemes will count prior offenses that were taken as a Plea in Abeyance as if there were convictions for criminal sentencing enhancement purposes. • Pretrial Conference: At this stage of the misdemeanor process, the prosecuting and defense attorneys meet to discuss the evidence. The prosecutor will attempt to convince the defendant’s attorney that they have a solid case and that the defendant should plead guilty as charged. In exchange for a guilty plea, the prosecutor often times recommends leniency on jail time, or fines, or both. Sometimes it makes sense to plead guilty in exchange for a no-jail recommendation; however, other times taking a guilty plea is clearly not in the defendant’s best interest, as the prosecutor’s evidence may be so fraught with problems that should the matter proceed to trial, the prosecutor would not be able to have its case survive the rigorous “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” standard, which is a very high standard to meet, as discussed more fully below. On the other hand, at this conference the defense attorney, if effective, will aggressively and skillfully present evidence to the prosecutor that will persuade her/him to dismiss the case or at least amend the charges downwardly. The attorney may also persuade the prosecutor to recommend no jail or reduced fines. The defense attorney may also propose creative solutions that satisfy the defendant’s objectives as well as meet the prosecutor’s objectives. For example, if a defendant had a job working with small children and was also an avid deer hunter and was recently charged with domestic violence against his wife in the presence of his children, this defendant could face losing his job, and would be prohibited from possessing a rifle so he could not participate in the deer hunt. A skillful defense attorney may offer a resolution such as a plea in abeyance. Under this plea resolution, the defendant pleads guilty to the charge, but the prosecutor agrees to recommend to the court that the plea be held in abeyance for a period of time (usually one year) on the condition that defendant takes a domestic violence class and does an assessment and whatever individual counseling is recommended by the evaluator, which may include couple’s counseling. If the defendant successfully completed the terms of the plea in abeyance, at the end of the twelve month period the defendant would have nothing on his record. He therefore would not lose his job, could continue to possess his rifle, and would not miss out on his deer hunting for the season. The prosecutor is happy because s/he gets a guilty plea which can be entered on the defendant’s record, without a trial, if the defendant violates the terms of the plea in abeyance agreement. The prosecutor also gets the defendant to attend classes so s/he can be hopefully rehabilitated, reducing the chance that the defendant will re-offend. So under this scenario the prosecutor and the defendant are both satisfied with the resolution. During the pre-trial conference the defense attorney will have an opportunity to discuss with the defendant, in private, any possible plea offers the prosecutor has offered to the defendant. The defense attorney should, at that point, inform the defendant of the offer, advise him/her on whether the offer is a reasonable one under the circumstances, and ask the defendant whether s/he would like to accept the offer. If the offer is accepted, the defendant must tell the court that s/he has accepted the offer, and inform the court what the terms of the offer are, must waive his/her rights, as discussed below, and must relay to the court the factual basis for the plea so the court can establish that each of the elements of the crime the defendant is pleading guilty to have been met beyond a reasonable doubt. A defendant’s admission to each of the elements of the alleged crime is usually sufficient to satisfy the “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” standard. If at the pre-trial conference the defendant has not obtained all the evidence that s/he has subpoenaed or requested from the prosecutor’s office, the matter may be rescheduled to another pre-trial conference. The court is usually flexible in permitting a defendant the opportunity for extensions of time if the defendant can demonstrate that the evidence is necessary and that s/he has been timely in requesting this evidence from the prosecutor’s office or other entities but has not yet received it. Free Initial Consultation with LawyerIt’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Legal problems come to everyone. Whether it’s your son who gets in a car wreck, your uncle who loses his job and needs to file for bankruptcy, your sister’s brother who’s getting divorced, or a grandparent that passes away without a will -all of us have legal issues and questions that arise. So when you have a law question, call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you!
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