Also known as: factual bases · factual predicate
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A requirement that a court determine there are sufficient facts in the record to support a guilty plea before entering judgment on the plea. The inquiry protects against a defendant pleading guilty to an offense the record does not show was committed and supplies information useful for sentencing.
Farid Farahani, held as an enemy combatant inside the United States, petitions for review of his detention. The government submits classified summaries and hearsay statements. The court orders a hearing at which Farahani may present evidence and cross-examine witnesses to test whether the record supplies an adequate factual basis for continued detention.
Fatou Fall files for legal separation and moves for temporary child support. Her motion is accompanied by an affidavit that details monthly expenses, the couple's assets, and the child's needs. The court reviews the affidavit to confirm it sets forth the factual basis required before granting interim relief.
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Faye Fuller, charged with theft, offers an Alford plea while maintaining innocence. The prosecutor reads a police report and witness statements into the record. The judge finds the documents establish a strong factual basis for the plea and accepts it without requiring an explicit admission of guilt.
Felix Franco moves to suppress a statement made during custodial interrogation. The prosecution offers the officer's testimony and the signed waiver form. The court determines whether the record supplies a factual basis showing the waiver was knowing and voluntary before admitting the statement.
Floyd Franklin, a journalist, moves to quash a grand-jury subpoena seeking confidential sources. The government proffers an affidavit describing the investigation and the reporter's likely knowledge. The court assesses whether the submission provides a sufficient factual basis to overcome the claim of privilege.
Felicia Fuentes enters a guilty plea to murder. The judge reviews the indictment, the plea colloquy, and the presentence report to confirm a factual basis exists for the conviction before imposing sentence under the state's capital-sentencing procedures.
No. Most courts hold that due process does not require a factual basis unless the defendant asserts innocence or other special circumstances exist. When the defendant protests innocence, however, a strong factual basis in the record is necessary to ensure the plea is a voluntary and intelligent choice.
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The judge may inquire of the defendant, the prosecutor, or defense counsel, or may examine the plea agreement and presentence report. The goal is to confirm that the defendant's conduct satisfies the elements of the charged offense.
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The requirement protects a defendant from pleading guilty to a crime the record does not show was committed and supplies the court with information useful for imposing an appropriate sentence. It also creates a record that discourages later collateral attacks on the plea.
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Yes. A court may accept a guilty plea from a defendant who maintains innocence so long as the plea is voluntary and intelligent and the record contains a strong factual basis for the conviction.
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…cases which it decides today. Judged by any of the standards for empirical investigation utilized in the social sciences the factual basis for the Court's premise is patently inadequate. Although in the Court's view in-custody interrogation is inherently coercive, the Court says that the spontaneous product of the coercion of…