Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief –  Guilty Plea –  ‘Factual Basis’

Where a defendant in a first-degree assault case claimed that there was no factual basis for his guilty plea and argued that he did not understand the nature of the charge or the elements of the offense, which made his guilty plea not knowing and voluntary, the trial court did not err in refusing to grant an evidentiary hearing because the court holds that a sufficient factual basis is not a requirement and the terms “factual basis” and “knowing and voluntary plea” are not interchangeable, and the record conclusively refuted the claims that the plea was not made knowingly and voluntarily, and the judgment is affirmed because the defendant also did not show ineffective assistance of counsel.

Judgment is affirmed.

Booker v. State (MLW No. 71760/Case No. SC96184 – 16 pages) (Supreme Court of Missouri, Breckenridge, J.; all concur) Appealed from circuit court, St. Louis City, Neill, J. (Srikant Chigurupati and Kristina Starke Nelson, St. Louis, for appellant) (Nathan J. Aquino, Jefferson City, for the state).

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