Crumb v. People

Justice BENDER delivered the Opinion of the Court.

I. Introduction

In this appeal, we review the court of appeals’ decision in People v. Crumb, 203 P.3d 587 (Colo.App.2008), which held that the defendant was not entitled to withdraw his guilty pleas based on the trial judge’s participation in plea discussions. We reverse. We hold that the trial court abused its discretion when it failed to permit the defendant to withdraw his guilty pleas.

In this case, the trial judge stepped out of his role as a fair and impartial arbiter by making participatory comments. These comments appear to have…