California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Serna, F065038 (Cal. App. 2013):
of the plea agreement, but Couture indicated that Serna reported he did not understand the agreement was for a sentence of 15 years to life. The trial court, however, was free to reject Serna's version of his understanding of the plea agreement. (People v. Hunt, supra, 174 Cal.App.3d at p. 103 [in deciding defendant's motion to withdraw his plea, "the trial court is not bound by uncontradicted statements of the defendant"].) The trial court noted that Serna had a significant period of time to consider the plea offer of 15 years to life and he was questioned about it in detail. At the time the plea was entered, the trial court was able to observe and question Serna, and Soria stipulated that the plea was taken in a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary fashion. Further, Couture wrote that Serna's understanding of the charges against him and the events leading up to his arrest were good and opined that he was capable of cooperating with counsel. This was substantial evidence from which the trial court could determine that Serna understood the plea agreement and voluntarily entered his plea.
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