Petition for New Trial

In OCCA case No. C 2002-1543, Jeffrey Ellis Barnett appealed his conviction for second-degree rape. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to grant his petition for a writ of certiorari. One judge dissented. Barnett had pleaded guilty to second-degree rape in McClain County. He was then sentenced to ten years in prison, with five years of that sentence suspended according to a plea agreement. Later, Barnett wanted to withdraw his guilty plea and filed his own petition to get a new trial. The court looked at this as a motion to withdraw the guilty plea but denied his request. Barnett believed he was not helped properly by his lawyer when he tried to withdraw his guilty plea, which he said was against his right to have legal help. After reviewing the case and comparing it to a similar case from 1995, the court accepted his argument and agreed that he needed better legal representation to help him with withdrawing his plea. As a result, the court decided to send the case back to the trial court. They ordered that Barnett would have a hearing with a different lawyer to help him with his motion to withdraw the guilty plea.