State v. John Tate (072754)

Rule 3:9-2 and our jurisprudence do not permit a court to accept a guilty plea unless the defendant provides a factual basis establishing that he is guilty of the offense. Our longstanding commitment to this approach, above all, is intended to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice process and to safeguard against convicting a potentially innocent person. Accordingly, a court must reject a guilty plea if a defendant protests his innocence or does not admit to or acknowledge facts that evidence his guilt.

Defendant John Tate pled guilty to the fourth-degree offense of abuse of his…