Re: Why did he say "no evidence"?

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Paul Robinson  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Stan Brown wrote:
>
>> If you please guilty, the judge can still enter a verdict of not
>> guilty, right?
>
>He could - the trier of fact can always find someone not guilty - but it
>will never happen.

Judges occasionally refuse to accept guilty pleas.  There are two main
reasons.  First, a judge must refuse a guilty plea if the defendant
does not understand the rights he is waiving by pleading guilty and
may refuse a guilty plea if the defendant refuses to confess to the
crime.  Second, a judge has some authority to reject an unreasonable
plea or sentence recommendation.

Refusing a guilty plea is not the same as finding the defendant innocent.
That requires a trial or a motion to dismiss.  (A Massachusetts judge,
fed up with the behavior of the prosecutor and police, declared over
the prosectutor's objections that the trial had started, held a very
brief bench trial, and found the defendant not guilty because no
evidence had been presented.  The prosecutor appealed and the appeals
court reversed, saying the judge was wrong and double jeopardy didn't
bar retrial under the circumstances because the "trial" was a sham.)


-- 
    John Carr ([EMAIL PROTECTED])