State v. Stacy

The question presented in this appeal is whether a trial court errs in accepting a plea of guilty, made on the advice of counsel, where the plea is on its face equivocal and couples a protestation of innocence with the admission of guilt.

Fred Stacy was brought to trial in the superior court for Grays Harbor county on charges of first degree kidnaping and first degree assault. Stacy was represented at his trial by two members of the bar, Mr. Ray DeKraay and Mr. Orville Peebles, who each had twenty and twenty-five years’ experience, respectively, at the bar. As the trial proceeded and as the…