Legal Opinion
Kotas v. Commonwealth
Kentucky Supreme Court
Decided May 2, 1978PublishedCited by 39 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
LUKOWSKY, Justice.
On September 10,1970, Kotas, along with his co-defendant Lycans, pled guilty to armed robbery. Kotas was represented by counsel. A jury was impaneled by the trial judge to fix the penalty. The verdict was life imprisonment and he was so sentenced. On May 18, 1977, the trial court granted a motion to vacate sentence made pursuant to RCr 11.42 because the jury had been improperly instructed on possible punishments.
On May 31,1977, Kotas made a motion to withdraw his plea of guilty on the ground it had not been made voluntarily, understandingly and intelligently. The trial court…
2Cases cited20 opinions
- Boykin v. AlabamaSupreme Court of the United States · 1969
- Johnson v. ZerbstSupreme Court of the United States · 1938
- North Carolina v. AlfordSupreme Court of the United States · 1970
- Brady v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1970
- Carnley v. CochranSupreme Court of the United States · 1962
15 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by39 opinions
- Bronk v. CommonwealthKentucky Supreme Court · 2001
- Woodall v. CommonwealthKentucky Supreme Court · 2002
- McQueen v. CommonwealthKentucky Supreme Court · 1986
- Pendleton v. CommonwealthKentucky Supreme Court · 2002
- Thompson v. CommonwealthKentucky Supreme Court · 2004
34 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.