State v. Gerald K. Umphenour

I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion because I am unable to conclude that what happened before the district court on May 22, 2013 was a guilty plea. Rather, the record reflects that a bench trial was conducted, albeit an irregular one. The transcript from that day shows that the following colloquy occurred between the court and the parties:

THE COURT: Counsel indicated before we came in that you had discussed this case further, and that there was a proposal that the parties stipulate to certain facts, and that the Court make findings based upon those facts. Is that generally what…