What is the proper procedure for withdrawing a guilty plea after the entry of judgment?

The proper procedure for seeking to withdraw a guilty plea after the entry of judgment is to petition for a writ of error coram nobis in the trial court. Denial of the writ would then be reviewable on appeal. (People v. Lockridge (1965) 233 Cal.App.2d 743, 745.) Even if the motion below were construed as a writ of error coram nobis, however, and the trial court's refusal to hear the motion treated as a denial of that petition, denial of defendant's claims was not an abuse of the trial court's discretion.

A writ of error coram nobis is granted only when strict requirements are met: (1) the petitioner must show that some fact existed which, without any fault on the petitioner's part, was not presented to the trial court, but which, if it had been presented, would have prevented the rendition of the judgment; (2) the petitioner must show that the newly discovered evidence does not go to the merits of the issues tried; and, (3) the petitioner must show that the facts relied upon were not known to him or her, and could not have been discovered in the exercise of due diligence, at any time substantially before the time the writ petition is filed. (People v. Lockridge, supra, 233 Cal.App.2d at p. 745.)

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