This list of U.S. states by Alford plea usage documents usage of the form of guilty plea known as the Alford plea in each of the U.S. states in the United States. An Alford plea (also referred to as Alford guilty plea[1][2][3] and Alford doctrine[4][5][6]) in the law of the United States is a guiltyplea in criminal court,[7][8][9] where the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence.[10][11][12] Under the Alford plea, the defendant admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.[4][13][14][15][16]
The Alford plea arose out of the 1970 case before the Supreme Court of the United States, North Carolina v. Alford, where the Court ruled that the defendant could be allowed to enter a guilty plea while still maintaining innocence.[12] According to the United States Department of Justice, in 2000 a greater percentage of State inmates made use of the plea than Federal inmates.[17] The state courts of Indiana, Michigan, and New Jersey do not allow usage of the plea.[10] It has been used in other states, and in application of the plea process the courts require the plea to be of a voluntary nature and based on factual evidence.[7] The courts make an effort to determine defendants are entering the plea by their own choice, and that there is a factual basis for the plea; they accomplish this by questioning the defendant about their choice and the prosecution about the potential case against the defendant.[7] Once entered, the plea is treated as a standard guilty plea.[12]
^Shepherd, Robert E. Jr. (November 2000). "Annual Survey of Virginia Law Article: Legal issues involving children". University of Richmond Law Review. 34. University of Richmond Law Review Association: 939.
^"Regular Features: Discipline Corner: Disbarment follows four years of disciplinary action against Kalispell lawyer". The Montana Lawyer. 23. State Bar of Montana: 23. February 1998.
^Huff, C. Ronald; Killias, Martin (2008). Wrongful Conviction. Temple University Press. pp. 143, 289. ISBN978-1-59213-645-2.