your case will be set for what’s called a Change of Plea Hearing. You may be wondering

what’s going to happen at that Change of Plea Hearing.

Hi, I’m Shawn Hamp. I’m a Trial Attorney and Criminal Defense Lawyer practicing law

here in Mohave County, Arizona.

When a defendant enters into a plea agreement with the State, they are changing their plea

from not guilty to guilty. This plea agreement has to be put into writing. The Court has

to enter the plea agreement on the record. So, the Court has to go through the plea agreement

with the defendant to make sure that they understand it.

The Court has to determine three things. They have to determine if the defendant who is

entering the plea agreement knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily. So, how does the court do

that? The court will go over the plea agreement with the defendant and will ask them a series

of questions. The court will tell a defendant what they’re agreeing to plead guilty to,

what the normal range of sentence is and what charges,

if any, the State is dropping or dismissing and what sentence they’ll be facing if they

enter the plea agreement.

The Court will also make sure the defendant is intelligently entering the plea agreement.

So, the Court will advise a defendant of what rights they are giving up by entering the

plea agreement. There are several rights that the defendant gives up. The defendant is giving

up the right to remain silent. They’re giving up the right to be represented by an attorney

at trial. The defendant gives up the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,

or gives up their right to a jury trial in a felony case. So, the Judge wants to make

sure that the defendant understands that they’re giving up those rights.

The Judge will also ask the defendant if anybody has made any threats or promises to them that

are not in the plea agreement. So, the Judge needs to determine if the plea agreement is

voluntarily made.

So, this is all done on the record. After the Change of Plea Hearing is conducted, the

Judge will then set the case for a Judgement and Sentencing Hearing, approximately 30 days

after the Change of Plea Hearing is conducted.

So, if you have any questions about a criminal case, please give my office a call. Let’s

find out if your case is something we can help you with. Call my office at 928-753-6868

or visit my website at HampLaw.com.