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Nichols v. State

Contrary to defendant's contention, plea counsel requested an extensive psychological evaluation which resulted in a finding that defendant had the mental capacity to distinguish right from wrong.

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Justin Levi Nichols appeals from the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea to the offenses of rape, aggravated assault, and burglary.1 He contends that he was denied effective assistance of counsel, that his plea was not voluntary, and that withdrawal of the plea is necessary to prevent a manifest injustice. We find no error, and we affirm.

1. We first discuss Nichols’s argument that his plea was not voluntarily given. During the plea hearing, Nichols testified that he “broke in a woman’s house, beat her up and raped her.” And he admitted that he “had sexual intercourse with her forcibly and against her will.” Before giving this testimony, Nichols acknowledged the following: he had talked with his attorney concerning the facts of his case; he did not need more time to discuss the case with counsel before proceeding with the hearing; he could read and write and understood the nature of the charges; he understood the maximum sentence to be life imprisonment and the minimum to be ten years; he was not under the influence of any drug that clouded his mind; he understood the proceedings occurring on that day; he had not been coerced or threatened to enter the plea; he had not been offered more favorable treatment in exchange for the plea; and he had gone over his plea form with counsel, and the answers written on the form were true and correct.

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