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Rule 2.8 – Arraignment and plea

May 13, 2021 | Criminal Procedure, Iowa

2. 8(1)Conduct of arraignment. Arraignment shall be conducted as soon as practicable. If the defendant appears for arraignment without counsel, the court must, before proceeding further, inform the defendant of the right to counsel and ask if the defendant desires counsel; and if the defendant does, and is unable by reason of indigency to employ any, the court must appoint defense counsel, who shall have free access to the defendant at all reasonable hours. Arraignment shall consist of reading the indictment to the defendant or stating to the defendant the substance of the charge and calling on the defendant to plead thereto. The defendant shall be given a copy of the indictment or information before being called upon to plead.

The defendant must be informed that if the name by which the defendant is indicted or informed against is not the defendant’s true name, the defendant must then declare what the defendant’s true name is, or be proceeded against by the name in the indictment. If the defendant gives no other name or gives the defendant’s true name, the defendant is thereafter precluded from objecting to the indictment or information upon the ground of being therein improperly named. If the defendant alleges that another name is the defendant’s true name, the court must direct an entry thereof in the minutes of the arraignment, and the subsequent proceedings on the indictment shall be had against the defendant by that name, and the indictment amended accordingly.

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, a defendant represented by an attorney may waive the formal arraignment contemplated by this rule and enter a plea of not guilty by executing and filing a written arraignment that substantially complies with the form that accompanies these rules. The arraignment form must assure the court that the defendant has been advised of, and is aware of, all the rights and matters specified in this rule and that the full purposes of an arraignment have been satisfied.

2. 8(2)Pleas to the indictment or information.

a. In general. A defendant may plead guilty, not guilty, or former conviction or acquittal. If the defendant fails or refuses to plead at arraignment, or if the court refuses to accept a guilty plea, the court shall enter a plea of not guilty. At any time before judgment, the court may permit a guilty plea to be withdrawn and a not guilty plea substituted.
b. Pleas of guilty. The court may refuse to accept a plea of guilty, and shall not accept a plea of guilty without first determining that the plea is made voluntarily and intelligently and has a factual basis. Before accepting a plea of guilty, the court must address the defendant personally in open court and inform the defendant of, and determine that the defendant understands, the following:

(1) The nature of the charge to which the plea is offered.
(2) The mandatory minimum punishment, if any, and the maximum possible punishment provided by the statute defining the offense to which the plea is offered.
(3) That a criminal conviction, deferred judgment, or deferred sentence may affect a defendant’s status under federal immigration laws.
(4) That the defendant has the right to be tried by a jury, and at trial has the right to assistance of counsel, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against the defendant, the right not to be compelled to incriminate oneself, and the right to present witnesses in the defendant’s own behalf and to have compulsory process in securing their attendance.
(5) That if the defendant pleads guilty there will not be a further trial of any kind, so that by pleading guilty the defendant waives the right to a trial.

The court may, in its discretion and with the approval of the defendant, waive the above procedures in a plea of guilty to a serious or aggravated misdemeanor. If the above procedures are waived in such a plea, the defendant shall sign a written document that includes a statement that conviction of a crime may result in the defendant’s deportation or other adverse immigration consequences if the defendant is not a United States citizen.

c. Inquiry regarding plea agreement. The court shall also inquire as to whether the defendant’s willingness to plead guilty results from prior discussions between the attorney for the state and the defendant or the defendant’s attorney. The terms of any plea agreement shall be disclosed of record as provided in rule 2.10(2).
d. Challenging pleas of guilty. The court shall inform the defendant that any challenges to a plea of guilty based on alleged defects in the plea proceedings must be raised in a motion in arrest of judgment and that failure to so raise such challenges shall preclude the right to assert them on appeal.
2. 8(3)Record of proceedings. A verbatim record of the proceedings at which the defendant enters a plea shall be made.

Iowa. R. Crim. P. 2.8

66GA, ch 1245(2), § 1301; 67GA, ch 153, § 19 to 23; Report 1978, effective July 1, 1979; amendment 1979; amendment 1982; amendment 1983; 1984 Iowa Acts, ch 1321, § 1; Report of April 20, 1992, effective July 1, 1992; November 9, 2001, effective February 15, 2002; December 22, 2003, effective November 1, 2004