Does a motion to withdraw a guilty plea have to be heard by the same judge?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from In re Brandon H., 121 Cal.Rptr.2d 530, 99 Cal.App.4th 1153 (Cal. App. 2002):
Penal Code section 859a concerns adult criminal defendants whose guilty pleas were entered in municipal court and certified to superior court. Upon written motion to withdraw the guilty plea, such a defendant has a right to have his motion heard in municipal court. As explained in People v. Mesa (1985) 174 Cal.App.3d 58, 60, 219 Cal.Rptr. 720, the legislative purpose of the provision is to have the motion heard by the judge who accepted the plea and is familiar with the circumstances. However, "[a]lthough it may be desirable in most cases for the same magistrate to hear the motion, nothing in the language of section 859a requires that result." (People v.
[99 Cal.App.4th 1156]
Batt (1994) 24 Cal.App.4th 1044, 1048, 30 Cal.Rptr.2d 109.) The statute requires only that a motion to withdraw a plea be heard by the same court, not the same judge. (People v. Valdez (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1633, 1638, 39 Cal. Rptr.2d 818.)
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