Rule 590.1 - PLEAS AND PLEA AGREEMENTS(a) The District Attorney shall prepare the sentencing guideline forms provided by the Court as soon as practicable after the informations are lodged, setting forth the sentences required by the guidelines if a plea of guilty is entered by the defendant, and shall forward this material to defense counsel. Counsel for defendants who wish to engage in plea negotiations shall promptly thereafter schedule a meeting with the District Attorney.(b) If the parties arrive at a plea agreement, the defense counsel or defendant shall complete the form for entry of a written guilty plea available at the office of the District Attorney and promptly return it to that office. The District Attorney shall promptly attach to the written guilty plea a copy of the information against the defendant, a report of the defendant's prior criminal record, and a list of maximum penalties and sentence guidelines for each charge. The District Attorney shall file the written guilty plea with attachments in the office of the Clerk of Courts, who shall promptly forward the guilty plea and attachments to the Criminal Court Administrator. When the charge is D.U.I., a copy of the CRN shall also be provided to the Court. Each written guilty plea shall be accompanied by a "Guilty Plea Certification" completed and signed by the District Attorney and defense counsel, certifying to the Court that the defendant's guilty plea has not previously been presented to the Court, or specifying the date when the plea was presented and identifying the judge who rejected the plea. Counsel who fail to comply with this rule may be held in contempt of Court.
The Criminal Court Administrator shall assign all guilty pleas and motions for A.R.D. among the judges who will hear those cases. Except for a plea of guilty entered after commencement of trial, the Court shall accept no guilty plea or A.R.D. motion unless scheduled and assigned by the Criminal Court Administrator.
(c) All guilty pleas and motions for A.R.D. received by the Criminal Court Administrator shall be heard on one of the dates scheduled for guilty pleas in the published Court Calendar unless otherwise scheduled by the Court.Adopted 7/29/16; effective 9/13/2016; amended effective 3/1/2021; amended effective 1/1/2024.