Motion to Withdraw Plea of Guilty to Second Degree Murder

In People v. Harvey (1984) 151 Cal.App.3d 660, the court reversed the trial court's refusal to permit a defendant to withdraw her plea of guilty to second degree murder. The reversal occurred because the defendant's attorney had not informed her prior to the plea that a psychiatrist hired by the defense had formed the opinion that the defendant, at the time of the killing, was incapable of the mental state required for the crime to which she pleaded guilty. (Id. at p. 668.) As a result, the court concluded, the plea was not knowing and intelligent. (Id. at pp. 670-671.)