McCarthy v. United States/Concurrence Black

Mr. Justice BLACK, concurring.

I concur, though not without some doubt, in the reversal of the judgment of conviction in this case. Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requires that the trial judge personally address a defendant who pleads guilty in order to ascertain if he understands the nature of the crime of which he has pleaded guilty. In this case the trial judge did not personally address the defendant but seems to have accepted the statement of the defendant's lawyer that he had advised the petitioner of the consequences of a plea of guilty. I base my concurrence in the judgment not upon any 'supervisory power' of this Court, however, but exclusively on the failure of the judge to first address the defendant personally, as required by Rule 11.