The following excerpt is from United States v. Gelzer, 19-1625 (2nd Cir. 2020):
"Rule 11 sets forth requirements for a plea allocution and is designed to ensure that a defendant's plea of guilty is a voluntary and intelligent choice among the alternative courses of action open to the defendant." United States v. Andrades, 169 F.3d 131, 133 (2d Cir. 1999).1 "Rule 11(b)(1)(G) calls for the district court to inform the defendant of and ensure that the
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defendant understands the nature of each charge to which the defendant is pleading" before accepting a guilty plea. United States v. Lloyd, 901 F.3d 111, 119 (2d Cir. 2018) (emphasis in original). By contrast, "Rule 11(b)(3) focuses on the court's own careful determination, before entering judgment on a guilty plea, that there is a factual basis for the plea." Id. at 119 (emphasis in original). We have "adopted a standard of strict adherence to Rule 11, and examine critically even slight procedural deficiencies to ensure that the defendant's guilty plea was a voluntary and intelligent choice, and that none of the defendant's substantial rights has been compromised." Id.
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