My client is pleading and I do not want the plea rejected. What does the colloquy cover?

The four parts of the colloquy at a glance

The plea colloquy runs in four parts, each stated here as general method. No case is cited and no holding is asserted; how each part is conducted in your district, and the controlling authority under it, is a matter to research on the facts and the forum. Here is the whole set, one line each. One of them is worked in full below as a sample; the rest are worked in full in the Plea Colloquy Checklist.

• The Rule 11(b)(1) advisements the court must give · Rule 11(b)(1)(A)-(O)

  The fifteen advisements the court gives the client personally and questions the client on, from the perjury warning through the trial rights waived, the penalties and consequences, and the immigration advisement.

• The Rule 11(b)(2) voluntariness inquiry · Rule 11(b)(2)

  The court's determination that the plea is voluntary and did not result from force, threats, or promises outside the written plea agreement.

• The Rule 11(b)(3) factual-basis determination · Rule 11(b)(3)

  The court's finding, before entering judgment, that a factual basis exists for the plea, so the facts the client admits actually satisfy the elements of the charge.

• Counsel's own pre-plea checks · Counsel's duty

  The two checks that sit alongside the colloquy but are counsel's own duty: reading the written plea-agreement terms with the client, and canvassing the collateral consequences, immigration first.

Sample: the Rule 11(b)(1) advisements, one by one

To show what “worked in full” means, here is the first part taken past the one-line description. Before accepting a guilty or nolo plea, the court addresses the client personally and gives the advisements the rule enumerates, questioning the client on each. The advisement text on each row is the rule’s own language. What counsel prepares the client for on each advisement, and the other three parts of the colloquy, are worked in full in the Plea Colloquy Checklist.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(A)

  The government's right, in a prosecution for perjury or false statement, to use against the defendant any statement that the defendant gives under oath.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(B)

  The right to plead not guilty, or having already so pleaded, to persist in that plea.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(C)

  The right to a jury trial.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(D)

  The right to be represented by counsel, and if necessary have the court appoint counsel, at trial and at every other stage of the proceeding.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(E)

  The right at trial to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses, to be protected from compelled self-incrimination, to testify and present evidence, and to compel the attendance of witnesses.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(F)

  The defendant's waiver of these trial rights if the court accepts a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(G)

  The nature of each charge to which the defendant is pleading.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(H)

  Any maximum possible penalty, including imprisonment, fine, and term of supervised release.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(I)

  Any mandatory minimum penalty.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(J)

  Any applicable forfeiture.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(K)

  The court's authority to order restitution.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(L)

  The court's obligation to impose a special assessment.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(M)

  In determining a sentence, the court's obligation to calculate the applicable sentencing-guideline range and to consider that range, possible departures under the Sentencing Guidelines, and other sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

• Rule 11(b)(1)(N)

  The terms of any plea-agreement provision waiving the right to appeal or to collaterally attack the sentence.

• Rule 11(b)(1)(O)

  That, if convicted, a defendant who is not a United States citizen may be removed from the United States, denied citizenship, and denied admission to the United States in the future.

The advisements are quoted from Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 (Cornell Legal Information Institute). The rule controls; confirm the current text before relying on any phrasing.

That is one part of the colloquy, and only the rule text at that, without the per-advisement preparation. The voluntariness inquiry, the factual-basis determination, counsel’s own pre-plea checks, and what to prepare the client for on each advisement are the rest of the framework, worked in full in the Plea Colloquy Checklist.

Get the full framework and the prepared plea

This sample is the shape of the colloquy and one part worked through in the rule’s own words. The full framework, every part of the colloquy worked in full, and the source-cited checklist counsel works from at the plea are the Plea Colloquy Checklist: the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 core inquiry, the knowing-and-voluntary canvass, the collateral-consequences audit, and the factual-basis inquiry, assembled into a checklist. The cousins share the case: the free federal sentencing-memo framework is what comes next once the plea is accepted, and the free Florida plea-in-range reference is the is-the-deal-fair cousin for judging an offer against the observed going rate.

Reference

For the source-cited depth product that grounds the plea, see the Plea Colloquy Checklist. For the cousins that share the case, use the free federal sentencing-memo framework and the free Florida plea-in-range reference. The advisements are quoted from Fed. R. Crim. P. 11; verify the current rule and the controlling case law in your circuit before relying on any of it. For the full set of federal references, start at the federal criminal-defense references hub.