In Ex parte Briggs , the "for real opinion" of December 16, the court essentially says Richard Anderson should have requested the trial court to make an indigence finding before he could competently advise his client whether she should be pleading guilty to having criminal responsibility for her son's death. Does anyone really think the trial court would have appointed an expert to delve further into the cause of death? Was Briggs choice unintelligent, or just premature, or neither? I already have a writ in which the court has expressed concern over appointed counsel's decision not to have a medical report (of signs of sexual abuse) independently reviewed in preparing for trial. Trials are all about uncertainty being resolved as best as 12 people can do that. Hindsight and new revelations (e.g., changed autopsy findings) can create doubts later. But, are we now going to spend more and more money to make sure counsel's predictions as to trial outcomes are the best that they can be? It amazes me that an open plea can be so fragile.

The CCA has made the judicial confession a virtually meaningless act. Saying under oath that you actually committed a crime appareantly is just a mechanical act required by law that has little weight in deciding guilt years later.

The prosecutor should work to expose the probable ineffective assistance at the plea and get the defendant to counter it.

For example, for Briggs, the prosecutor (obviously needing to read the defendant and defense attorney's mind), should have asked,

"OK, do you understand that, by pleading guilty and confessing, you will not be able to get a free expert to restudy the death of the child and come up with a different opinion than yours as to the cause of death? Is it true that you want to plead guilty and accept responsibility rather than take on the risk of a trial, even if you had a free expert?"

In our plea papers, we have the defendant expressly waive the opportunity for additional discovery and investigation. But, you are right, Martin, the essence of a guilty plea is the acceptance of guilt to avoid the risk (largely unknown) associated with a trial.