State v. Edwards
State v. Edwards, 2023 UT App 23 (Tenney, J.)
Criminal
Edwards entered a no-contest guilty plea to aggravated assault. His sentencing hearing had been continued multiple times due to covid—and once at Edwards’ request, so that he could consider withdrawing his plea. On the morning of sentencing, defense counsel asked for a 24-hour continuance to respond in writing to a letter the court had received from the alleged victim. Counsel also asked for correction of several factual errors in Edwards’ Pre-Sentence Report (PSR). The district court rejected his request for a continuance and sentenced Edwards without addressing his PSR concerns. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed the court’s sentencing decision but reversed and remanded for the court to consider the factual errors in Edwards’ PSR, holding:
- The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Edwards’s request for a continuance to file a written motion for a plea withdrawal.
- The court, however, erred when it failed to resolve the alleged inaccuracies in the PSR.