Can a defendant withdraw a plea of no contest to a charge of assault because he felt he was under duress when he entered his no contest plea?

On December 1, 2015, appellant made a motion to replace appointed counsel pursuant to People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118 (Marsden). In an in camera hearing, appellant stated, inter alia, that he felt he was under duress when he entered his no contest pleas because trial counsel said he (appellant) was out of time and needed to make a decision. Appellant also cited authority permitting a defendant to withdraw his plea if he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Defense counsel responded that he had had multiple lengthy meetings with appellant to discuss his case and felt they had reached a productive meeting of the minds despite some difficult conversations. Appellant knew that the decision whether to accept the plea agreement was his to make and, although it was a difficult decision, counsel believed appellant made a wise choice in accepting the plea agreement and very significantly reducing his exposure to a lengthy prison sentence.

Page 4