In re Anthony Bridger

¶ 25. I join Justices Skoglund and Robinson in their opinion for the Court. I write separately to emphasize the most important consequence of the decision and to answer, for myself, why we should deviate from federal and state decisions under federal and state criminal procedure rules with identical or very similar language.

¶ 26. There is no criminal procedural rule more important than Rule 11. Over ninety-five percent of all criminal cases that reach court judgment are resolved by a plea of guilty, usually as a result of some kind of plea bargain. See, e.g., Vt. Judiciary, Annual Statistical…