People v. Kyler

I. INTRODUCTION

In this appeal we hold that to determine whether a guilty plea is voluntary the constitutionality of restraints placed upon the defendant is irrelevant. The defendant filed for post-conviction relief seeking to invalidate his pleas of guilty, claiming that he was coerced into pleading guilty because of the restraints placed upon him during the period of time leading up to the entry of his plea. After conducting a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the claim, concluding that the pleas were entered voluntarily. A divided panel of the court of appeals reversed, reasoning…