Is a defendant's prior experience with the criminal justice system relevant to the question of whether he knowingly waived constitutional rights?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Rodriquez, C085329 (Cal. App. 2018):

received express rights advisements, and expressly waived them, [but] whether the defendant's admission was intelligent and voluntary because it was given with an understanding of the rights waived." (People v. Mosby, supra, 33 Cal.4th at p. 361, italics added.) We must go beyond the record of the plea colloquy and review the entire record to ascertain whether defendant understood the necessary rights. (Ibid.) " '[A] defendant's prior experience with the criminal justice system' is . . . 'relevant to the question of whether he knowingly waived constitutional rights.' [Citation.] 'That is so because previous experience in the criminal justice system is relevant to a recidivist's ' "knowledge and sophistication regarding his [legal] rights." ' [Citations.]" (Id. at p. 365.)

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