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Criminal Law

: Tenth Circuit Blog

By Shari Allison

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US v. Sophia Zayas, No. 18-2154 (10th Cir. Feb. 6, 2020): The Tenth Circuit reverses the district court?s denial of Ms. Zayas? motion to withdraw her plea of guilty to the New Mexico crime of child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, through the Assimilated Crimes Act. When she pled, the required mens rea was criminal negligence, which could be satisfied by the government showing the defendant disregarded a risk of which she knew or should have known. Six months later, the New Mexico Supreme Court sua sponte overruled its precedent and held that the requisite mens rea was recklessness ? that the defendant consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk. Ms. Zayas moved to withdraw her guilty plea, arguing it was not knowing and voluntary because the district court had failed to adequately explain the mens rea requirement...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on June 16, 2020 (boomark / email).