Felix L. Carwile v. Steve Smith, Warden

DAVID A. NELSON, Circuit Judge.

The question posed in this habeas corpus case is whether the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution was violated by the refusal of a Kentucky trial judge to let a criminal defendant withdraw a guilty plea after the judge had rejected a sentencing recommendation made by the prosecutor pursuant to a plea bargain. A majority of states do not give the trial judge discretion to disallow withdrawal of a guilty plea in these circumstances; the practice in Kentucky is different. Because the criminal defendant in the present case was not misled about the…