A defendant who pleaded guilty to multiple crimes allegedly committed due to mental illness but was denied trial when the plea was not accepted has had his conviction overturned.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that when Anthony Velazquez’s guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) plea was incorrectly recorded as a standard guilty plea, the defendant’s right to trial was violated. The three-judge panel agreed with Velazquez’s claim that his lawyer was ineffective.