U.S. v. Williams, 53 M.J. 293

Trial Stages: Merits: Guilty Pleas

1. when collateral consequences of a court-martial conviction are relied upon as the basis for contesting the providence of a guilty plea, the appellant is entitled to succeed only when the collateral consequences are major and the appellant’s misunderstanding of the consequences (a) results foreseeably and almost inexorably from the language of a pretrial agreement; (b) is induced by the trial judge’s comments during the providence inquiry; or (c) is made readily apparent to the judge, who nonetheless fails to correct that misunderstanding
2. appellant’s pleas were improvident where he pleaded guilty relying on incorrect advice from his attorney on a key part of the pretrial agreement (entitlement to pay), and the military judge shared that misunderstanding and failed to correct it

Trial Stages: Merits: Pretrial Agreements

1. an accused is entitled to the benefit of the bargain on which a guilty plea is based; where he does not receive the benefit of his bargain, his pleas may not be provident