(a)Permissible Pleas by Child. A child may admit the allegations of the petition or summons by pleading guilty, or the child may plead not guilty, nolo contendere, or enter no plea. If the child enters no plea, the court will proceed as if a denial were entered to the allegations of the petition or summons.(b)Determining Voluntariness, Understanding, and Intelligence of a Plea of Guilty by a Juvenile. The court must not accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a charge of delinquency by a child without first determining that the plea is made voluntarily with an understanding of the nature of the allegations in the petition or summons and the consequences of the plea, including that such a plea constitutes a waiver of the right to confront one’s accusers and the right against compulsory self- incrimination.(c)Determining Voluntariness, Understanding, and Intelligence of a Plea of Guilty by an Adult. In any case involving an adult charged with a crime, the court must not accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a misdemeanor charge except in compliance with Rule 7C:6.(d) Upon rejecting a plea agreement in any criminal or delinquency matter, a judge must immediately recuse himself from any further proceedings on the same matter unless the parties agree otherwise.
Va. Sup. Ct. 8:18
Amended by order dated March 1, 2005, effective June 1, 2005; amended by order dated Wednesday, July 2, 2014, effective immediately; amended by order dated September 3, 2020, effective September 3, 2020; amended by order dated November 23, 2020, effective March 1, 2021.
