RONALD DEAN MEEKS, PETITIONER-APPELLANT,
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, RESPONDENT-APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that conclusory allegations of threats and coercion are insufficient to warrant a hearing under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.
Appellant pled guilty to attempted rape after being charged with rape and sought relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, alleging his plea was coerced. The ple…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Petition cases and more on FLexlaw
JAMES M. CARTER, Circuit Judge.
Appellant, charged with rape, pled guilty to the offense of an attempt to commit rape, and was sentenced to a term of 15 years. He petitioned under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 and the district court denied relief without a hearing.
The district court ordered prepared a transcript of proceedings, at which appellant, represented by counsel, entered his plea to a lesser and included offense. The transcript shows there was full compliance with the requirements of Rule 11, F.R.Crim.P. Appellant claims that he alleged that his plea was entered as a result of promises, threats and coercion. The transcript showed that he admitted to the court at the time of plea that he had not been threatened and that no promises had been made.
Even though a district judge fully complies with Rule 11, and even though the defendant at the time of entering his plea denies that he was coerced, or that promises were made to him, if thereafter he alleges coercion or promises with sufficient specificity, it is the law that ordinarily and except in unusual cases, that the district court must grant a hearing. As late as May 4, 1970 in McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 90 S.Ct. 1441, 25 L.Ed.2d 763, the Supreme Court stated in a habeas case,
“That the petitioner was represented by counsel and denied the existence of coercion or promises when tendering his plea does not foreclose a hearing on his petition for habeas corpus alleging matters outside the state court record.”
In Castro v. United States (9 Cir. 1968), 396 F. 2d 345, 348, this court stated:
“But procedural compliance with Rule 11 does not foreclose a hearing in a subsequent section 2255 proceeding where facts are alleged which, if true, establish lack of understanding of the consequences of a plea of guilty, and where such allegations cannot be conclusively resolved by reference to that record. The record of the arraignment is then ‘evidential on the issue of voluntariness * * * not conclusive.’ See, Jones v. United States, 9 Cir., 384 F. 2d 916, 917.”
However, in this case we do not reach the issues purportedly tendered by appellant. His allegations are conclusionary. He states that he was “threatened that the court had evidence” against him, and that his counsel informed him that he “had made an agreement” with the prosecutor. We cannot ascertain who made the threats or whether the alleged promise was honestly carried out. The judgment is affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Reed v. United States, 441 F.2d 569 (9th Cir. 1971)
-
Diamond v. United States, 432 F.2d 35 (9th Cir. 1970)
-
Mayes v. Pickett, 537 F.2d 1080 (9th Cir. 1976)
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- McMANN v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759 (U.S. 1970)
- Castro v. United States, 396 F.2d 345 (9th Cir. 1968)
- Jones v. United States, 384 F.2d 916 (9th Cir. 1967)