Name

County Attorney

Address

City, State, Zip

Telephone Number

Attorney for Plaintiff

MONTANA JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, COUNTY

*

STATE OF MONTANA, * CAUSE NO.

*

Plaintiff, * JUDGE

*

vs. * ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF

*

, * RIGHTS AND PLEA

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Defendant. * AGREEMENT

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I, , the defendant in the above-entitled matter, have had an opportunity to examine the charges brought against me, including the investigative advised, acknowledge my rights, and agree to plead guilty as hereinafter set forth.

I acknowledge that my attorney has explained to me and advised me of the following and I fully understand that:

1. I have the right to challenge the sufficiency of the information and the affidavit supporting it;

2. I have the right to object to any evidence that may have been obtained in violation of the law or constitution;

3. I have the right to plead not guilty, or to persist in that plea if it has already been made, and thereby place the burden of proof in proving my guilt upon prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt.

4. I have the right to a speedy and public trial by jury and at trial I have the following rights:

a. The right to the effective assistance of counsel;

b. The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against me.

c. The right to testify;

d. The right to call and have witnesses testify on my behalf;

e. The right not to be compelled to incriminate myself;

f. The right to have the charges proven beyond a reasonable doubt and to appeal a finding of guilty.

5. I am charged with the offense(s) of and that the maximum possible penalty provided for by law is . In addition, I understand that at trial I could be found guilty of a lesser included offense, or offenses, and that the lesser included offense, or offenses may be: with a maximum penalty of .

6. By pleading guilty I will "waive" or give up those rights mentioned above.

7. I have had ample time and opportunity to discuss this case with my attorney, received the full benefit of my attorney's advice, and am satisfied with the services of my attorney.

8. I am not suffering from any mental disease or defect, or any emotional disability, nor am I acting under the influence of alcohol, drugs or prescription medicine.

9. I have not been threatened, coerced, forced, intimidated or influenced in any way.

10. I have entered into this agreement freely and voluntarily and with full knowledge of its terms and conditions.

11. I understand that a plea bargain agreement is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor that in exchange for a particular plea the prosecutor will recommend a particular sentence.

12. I understand that the court may not participate in the making of such an agreement nor is the Court bound by the agreement.

13. I understand that on my plea of guilty alone I could lawfully be sentenced to the maximum punishment authorized for the offenses(s) to which I plead guilty and that therecommendation of the prosecuting attorney in no way binds the Court when imposing sentence.

14. I understand that the sentence to be imposed is within the sole discretion of the sentencing judge and that the State does not make any promise or representation as to what the sentence will be.

15. I understand that if the Court does not impose the sentence recommended by the prosecutor, the Court is not required to allow me to with draw my plea of guilty.

16. I have discussed the sentencing laws of this State contained in Title 46, Chapter 18 of the Montana Code Annotated with my attorney and have been advised of the most severe sentence that can be imposed.

17. I have considered the severe sentence that could be imposed.

18. Pursuant to Section 46-12-204, M.C.A., and conditioned upon the understandings specified below, I agree to plead guilty to the offense(s) of as alleged in the Information, on the following basis:

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

It is further understood and agreed between the parties as follows:

a. The prosecution will abide by the terms of this agreement throughout all proceedings relevant to the determination of sentence including sentence review and parole proceedings;

b. The prosecution will not attempt to alter or renegotiate the terms of this agreement or make any statements or offer any evidence during sentencing that would compromise the agreed upon recommendation;

c. The prosecutor however, shall not be bound to make the agreed upon recommendation and may either withdraw from the agreement or make a different recommendation in the event that the defendant misrepresents material facts concerning his/her past record, or additional or felony record is discovered prior to the time of sentencing;

The State agrees that the defendant shall be entitled to withdraw from this agreement:

a. At any time prior to the entry of a guilty plea;

b. Subsequent to the entry of a guilty plea in the event the State fails to perform its obligations pursuant to this agreement;or

c. If the Court refuses to accept the defendant's plea of guilty.

The defendant agrees that the State shall be entitled to withdraw from this agreement in the event that the defendant fails or refuses to comply with the terms of this agreement, or upon the happening of any of the following events:

a. The giving of a statement by the defendant that is not completely and totally truthful, or any portion of it is not completely and totally truthful, in any respect, as established by physical evidence or contraditictor testimony, concerning the crime with which the defendant is questioned, including past criminal conduct, charged or uncharged, in which he/she was involved or about which he/she has knowledge;

b. The giving of a subsequent statement by the defendant to any person that is in any way inconsistent or contradictory to the agreed upon statement, or the discovery by the prosecution of any prior statement given to any person by the defendant that is inconsistent, excepting prior subsequent statements containing unintentional errors or mistakes;

c. The giving of a statement by the defendant in which the defendant provided information concerning any subject about which he is questioned;

d. The giving of a statement by the defendant in which the defendant provided information, either in the statement as a whole, or in any portion of the statement, that is misleading, inaccurate, incomplete or evasive in any respect;

e. The defendant's refusal or failure to make himself/herself available to cooperate with the prosecution under the terms of this agreement;

f. The defendant's commission or attempted commission of any criminal offense, felony or misdemeanor, subsequent to the entry of the agreed upon plea of guilty or dismissal of charges;

g. The defendant's refusal or failure to testify at any hearing or trial, including any retrial or hearing associated with the retrial, before or after the entry of the agreed upon plea of guilty of dismissal of charges; or

h. The defendant's refusal or failure to enter the agreed upon plea of guilty and to have the Court accept such plea of guilty.

I believe I am guilty of the offense(s) charged because I did the following: .

19. I acknowledge receiving a copy of this statement and having read it, understand it thoroughly.

20. No additional promises, agreements or conditions have been entered into other than those set forth in this plea agreement.

DATED this day of , 19 .

Defendant

Attorney for Defendant

County Attorney