Britain v. State

McINTYRE, Chief Justice.

The defendant, Joseph Britain, pleaded guilty to the theft of 100 bales of hay (worth about $100). He was sentenced to a term of not less than one year nor more than five years in the penitentiary. The sentence may have been more severe than defendant expected. In fact, he may have expected to be placed on probation.

In any event, after sentence was rendered, defendant engaged new counsel and moved to set aside his guilty plea, with leave to enter a plea of not guilty. His motion, after a full hearing by the court, was denied and defendant has appealed.

On appeal,…