ABSTRACT
Care must be taken that a plea of guilty is entered voluntarily. If it is not entered voluntarily, the Court of Appeal will quash the conviction and will usually order a re-trial.
In the next section, we look at safeguards to prevent pressure from the judge. However, pressure can also be exerted by the defendant’s own lawyers. It would be wholly improper to advise a client to plead guilty if the defendant reveals facts amounting to a defence. If, however, the facts revealed by the defendant show that he is effectively admitting the offence then this should be made clear to her.
