Hello.
I'm Magistrate Michael Douglass.
You are here today because you or your attorney has informed the court that you are entering a plea of
guilty in this case.
That plea of guilty may or may not be in writing depending on the charge to which you are pleading guilty.
If you have any questions about your rights or the penalties you are facing, you should ask them at the
conclusion of the video when you appear before the judge or magistrate.
If you have an attorney, you should ask your questions to your attorney.
Today, the court will discuss your plea of guilty.
Before the Court can accept a plea of guilty from you, the court must be satisfied of the following:
That you fully understand your constitutional rights;
That your plea of guilty is made freely and voluntarily; and,
That you, in fact, committed the crime or crimes to which you are admitting guilt.
At the conclusion of this video, the Court will ask questions of you including:
• "Whether you have a history of treatment for a mental health disorder;
• Whether, to the best of your knowledge, you now suffer from any mental or emotional disability;
• Whether you are now under the influence of alcohol or any drugs; and,
• Whether it is your intent to withdraw your earlier plea of not guilty and now enter a plea of guilty.
I will now advise you of the important rights you have and that you will be waiving when you enter a
plea of guilty.
When you are before the judge or magistrate, the judge or magistrate will ask you if you understand these
rights and if you understand that you waive or give up these rights when you enter a plea of guilty, so
please pay close attention.
I advise you that:
You have the right to have a trial, and to have that trial be public, speedy, and by jury.
You have the right to face all witnesses against you and to see, hear, question, and cross-examine all
witnesses against you.
You have the right to require witnesses to be present at any hearing or trial and to testify on your behalf,
and the court will help you by issuing orders to such witnesses to come to court and testify.
The State of Indiana must prove "beyond" a reasonable doubt that you committed the offense or offenses charged
against you before you can be found guilty.
You cannot be forced to make any statement or to testify against yourself at any hearing or trial
And, you have the right to remain silent.
Lastly, if you were to have a trial and you were found guilty, you would have the right to appeal your conviction
to the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
However, by pleading guilty you give up that right to appeal the conviction.
You must understand that by pleading guilty you give up all the rights I just explained.
If you have entered into a plea agreement and the agreement calls for open sentencing terms, you may
still retain the right to appeal the sentence.
However, if the terms of the agreement require you to waive your right to appeal, you may be "waiving"
your right to appeal the sentence as well.
If you have questions about that, please ask your attorney.
You have the right to be represented by an attorney at all times, including during a trial or appeal.
If you cannot afford to pay an attorney now or for the purposes of an appeal, the court will appoint
an attorney for you.
By pleading guilty, you must understand the charge to which you are now pleading guilty.
The judge will review the charges with you when you are before the court.
By pleading guilty, you must also admit to each and every element of the charge or charges to which you
are pleading guilty.
Lastly, by pleading guilty, you are admitting that you committed the crime or crimes to which you will
be pleading guilty.
If you have entered into an agreement with the State, you must understand that the judge is not a party
to that agreement.
The only "parties" to your agreement are you and the State of Indiana.
The judge may not change the terms of any agreement you have made with the State.
The judge may only accept or reject the plea of guilty after fully reviewing it with you, your attorney,
and the State.
If the judge accepts your plea of guilty, you will be judged guilty and sentenced pursuant to the terms
of the agreement and without any trial.
No person can force or threaten you to plead guilty.
Likewise, no person may offer you anything of value in exchange for your plea of guilty.
You may only plead guilty if it is your free and voluntary decision to do so.
If your plea of guilty includes an admission that you committed the crime while possessing or using
a firearm, including a modified firearm, you may be subject to a greater sentence for that reason.
If your guilty plea includes an admission that you are a Habitual Offender or a Habitual Vehicular Substance
Offender, your sentence may be increased.
This is because Indiana law allows for additional punishment when someone has prior qualifying convictions
related to drugs or substance-related driving offenses.
If you are pleading guilty to an offense that involves the operation of a motor vehicle, the court will send
a notice of your conviction to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles "and" the "conviction" will count toward
you being a Habitual Traffic Violator.
The conviction could possibly also result in a suspension of your driving privileges.
After the conclusion of this video, the judge or magistrate will ask you whether you understood each and every
advisement given in this video.
If you have any questions or if you did not fully understand the information in this video, please let
your attorney and the court know right away.