Lane, Corrections Director v. Williams et al. (455 U.S. 624)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 23, 1982 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 455 U.S. 624 · 102 S. Ct. 1322
- Decided
- March 23, 1982
- Term
- October Term 1981
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Vacated
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. In 1975, respondents pleaded guilty in Illinois state court to a charge of burglary, an offense punishable at that time by imprisonment for an indeterminate term of years and a mandatory 3-year parole term. We granted certiorari to consider whether the failure of the trial court to advise respondents of that mandatory parole requirement before accepting their guilty pleas deprived them of due process of law. We are unable to reach that question, however, because we find that respondents’ claims for relief are moot. I On March 11, 1975, respondent Lawrence Williams ap-. peared in Illinois state court and pleaded guilty to a single count of burglary. Before accepting the guilty plea, the trial judge elicited Williams’ understanding of the terms of a plea agreement, in which his attorney and the prosecutor had agreed that Williams would receive an indeterminate sentence of from one to two years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty. The judge informed Williams that he would impose the bargained sentence, and advised him of both the nature of the charge against him and the constitutional rights that he would waive by pleading guilty. After the prosecutor established a factual basis for the plea, Williams indicated that he understood his rights and wished to plead guilty. At the time that Williams pleaded guilty, Illinois law…
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