In In Re Personal Restraint of Stockwell, the Supreme Court unanimously (7 judges, with 2 concurring) determined that an involuntary guilty plea may only be overturned on collateral attack if the petitioner shows actual and substantial prejudice from the circumstances surrounding the plea.  This decision is the latest in the Court’s self-described “course correction” towards a more stringent standard for granting relief after convictions have been finalized.  While concurring, Justice Gordon McCloud, joined by Justice Stephens, wrote separately to complain that the majority defined too stringently the prejudice required to prevail on personal restraint petition
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