Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Re: Withdrawing a Guilty Plea

I hate hearing this kind of story. I hear it all the time... "I plead guilty to get out of jail." In my time, convicting the innocent seems to be more of a problem than letting off the guilty. Nevertheless, in our system of jursidprudence, you get an opportunity to fight about something only ONCE. If you plead guilty and were sentenced, then it is over. You might have a slim prayer IF you can show your plea was not knowing and voluntary (on a writ of habeas corpus). If you have not been sentenced yet, you can move to withdraw your plea, but it is discretionary with the judge and he does not have to grant it. If this is your situation, you might offer to waive a jury trial for the opportunity of a bench trial, as sort of an "trade" with the judge to get him to give you at least a chance to prove to him you're innocent. Problem is, the State would have to agree to waive a jury trial too.