Can a defendant plead not guilty by reason of insanity in open court?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Coronado, B269983 (Cal. App. 2018):

Under Penal Code section 1018, "every plea shall be entered or withdrawn by the defendant himself or herself in open court" unless otherwise provided by law. The parties agree the error complained of is a violation of a state statute, not a federal constitutional error, and is therefore subject to a harmless error test. (See People v. Henning (2009) 178 Cal.App.4th 388, 402 [court did not permit defendant to plead not guilty by reason of insanity over counsel's objections; no error, because no credible evidence supported insanity defense].)

Coronado cites to People v. Clemons (2008) 160 Cal.App.4th 1243 (Clemons) in support of her claim that she was prejudiced by the error here. In Clemons, the trial court refused to allow the

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