Withdrawing Guilty Pleas in California Federal Criminal Cases

If you're like many individuals who pled guilty to a federal offense in California, you may regret your decision and wish you could withdraw your guilty plea. Fortunately, in some cases you can. An experienced California appellate attorney from The Kavinoky Law Firm will thoroughly analyze your case to determine whether it may be possible to withdraw your guilty plea and aggressively defend your case.

Whether or not you will be allowed to withdraw your guilty plea in your federal case will depend heavily on whether or not you've already been sentenced. Generally, in the federal system, withdrawing a guilty plea before sentencing can be done by a showing of good cause.

Establishing good cause to withdraw your guilty plea in a federal prosecution generally means that you didn't understand your actions or the consequences of admitting responsibility to the offense, or were pressured into pleading guilty when you didn't want to do so.

Withdrawing a plea after sentencing is a much more detailed and intricate process, and involves a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus, also called a 2255 petition. Although this is a complex process, it can be accomplished by establishing that legal or factual errors occurred in your case that were not part of the trial record.

There are enormous advantages to withdrawing your guilty plea in your federal case and beginning the process anew. You may have the opportunity to aggressively defend yourself against the charges you face and receive the justice that you need and deserve.

It may be possible to withdraw your guilty plea in your federal criminal case, but time is of the essence. To learn more about your options in withdrawing your guilty plea to a federal offense, please contact an experienced California appellate attorney from The Kavinoky Law Firm today for a free consultation.