Case Caption: Joseph Elliott, Jr. v. People of the Virgin IslandsCase Number: S. Ct. Civ. No. 2011-0011Date: 03/24/2014Author: Swan, Ive Arlington Citation: Summary:

The Superior Court did not err in denying the petitioner's application for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner's guilty plea admitted all of the factual and legal elements necessary to sustain a binding, final judgment of guilt and a lawful sentence, and a defendant who has pled guilty has waived, for purposes of both direct appeal and a collateral habeas corpus application, all errors that purportedly occurred prior to acceptance of the plea agreement, other than those relating to the subject-matter jurisdiction of the Superior Court, the voluntariness of the plea agreement itself, and ineffective assistance of counsel at the plea agreement stage. In this case, the neither the petition nor petitioner's appellate brief has raised any arguments challenging such matters. The amendment made to the information against the petitioner was prompted and necessitated by his plea agreement and by pleading guilty he has waived the issue of insufficiency of the evidence to support his guilty plea. The November 30, 2010 Order denying this request for habeas corpus relief is affirmed.

Attachment: Open Document or Opinion