Siegel v. United States, 108
| Decision Date | 14 December 1970 |
| Docket Number | Docket 35028.,No. 108,108 |
| Parties | David SIEGEL, Defendant-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Milton Adler, New York City, The Legal Aid Society, Phylis Skloot Bamberger, New York City, of counsel, for defendant-appellant.
Whitney North Seymour, U. S. Atty., S.D.N.Y., Henry Putzel, III and Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, Asst. U. S. Attys., of counsel, for plaintiff-appellee.
Before CLARK, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, Retired,* LUMBARD, Chief Judge and KAUFMAN, Circuit Judge.
This is an appeal from two orders of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denying, without a hearing, (1) a motion pursuant to § 2255 of Title 28, United States Code, to set aside a judgment of conviction on a plea of guilty on two counts of an indictment charging interstate transportation of forged checks and to vacate the sentence thereon; and (2) a motion pursuant to Rule 35, F.R.Crim.P. to correct the sentence pursuant to § 3568 Title 18, United States Code. This court granted appellant leave to appeal in forma pauperis.
The Appellant, David Siegel, was indicted on September 14, 1964, in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada on two counts charging interstate transporation of forged securities in violation of § 2314 of Title 18, United States Code. By consent under Rule 20 of the F.R.Crim.P., the United States District Court transferred the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. On October 31, 1966, while an inmate of Sing Sing Prison, where he was serving an unrelated sentence imposed under New York law, appellant was taken to the Federal House of Detention by agreement with New York authorities, and on December 2, 1966, pleaded guilty to both counts of the federal indictment. On January 27, 1967, after three adjournments, all at appellant's request, he was sentenced to the maximum term of ten years' imprisonment on the first count and to a subsequent five-year period of unsupervised probation on the second count. Although represented throughout these proceedings by retained counsel, Siegel never appealed from this judgment.
After the entry of his plea on December 6, 1966, the appellant was returned to the Federal House of Detention. On January 23, 1967, he fell down a flight of steps at the House and was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment. He claimed to be suffering from paralysis of the lower part of his body, bruises to his shoulders and neck and a slight concussion. However it was the opinion of two neurologists after examination and observation that appellant's claims were "purely malingering," and the Court, therefore, proceeded to sentence appellant, as aforesaid, on January 27, 1967. He was then returned to Sing Sing Prison.
Soon thereafter appellant wrote two letters to the sentencing judge, alleging that his plea had been "fraudulently coerced" by his attorney. The letters were treated as motions to set aside the plea of guilty under Rule 32(d) F.R.Crim.P. and both were denied on February 16, 1967, on the papers. A third motion alleging that his attorney had not been admitted to the Bar of the United States District Court for the Southern District was denied on the papers on July 13, 1967, and is now pending here, awaiting appellant's brief on the denial of in forma pauperis relief.
The present § 2255 application was subsequently filed. It alleges that the guilty plea was coerced by the prosecutor, the judge and appellant's own counsel; that he was innocent of the crime charged and so advised his lawyer but he was induced to plead guilty by the promises of another judge of the Southern District and an assistant United States Attorney that he would get a 2-year concurrent sentence; that his guilty plea was entered in ignorance and misapprehension of the law; and, finally, that at the time of sentence, on January 27, 1967, he was in great pain from the fall down the staircase and was under medication which rendered him incompetent. This motion was denied without a hearing on August 20, 1968. Subsequently appellant moved to correct his sentence under Rule 35 F.R.Crim.P. The gist of this claim is that he was entitled to credit under § 3568 of Title 18, United States Code, for the time he served subsequent to his plea of guilty and while awaiting sentence, a period of 142 days. This motion was denied on February 24, 1969. Appellant then filed a motion to vacate his sentence on the ground that the District Court in the Southern District of New York lacked jurisdiction. It was denied on September 12, 1969, and no appeal was taken.
1. At the outset we note that the minutes of the hearing at which appellant entered his plea of guilty clearly show the meticulous care the judge exercised in accepting the plea. After the Clerk read the indictment to the appellant and he said that he understood "the two charges," the judge inquired how he pled, and he answered "Guilty * * to both counts." The judge then asked if he understood that "all that remains to be done is * * * to impose sentence * * *"; that the maximum sentence on each count was ten years and a fine of up to $10,000 or both. Appellant answered: "Yes, sir." And, furthermore, the judge warned the jail sentence might be 20 years and still appellant said he understood and wished to plead guilty. He was then asked: "Did anybody make any promises to you * * * as to what might happen in the way of a sentence or anything else if you came in and changed your plea here?" And appellant answered: "No, your Honor." And when asked if anybody made any threats against him in order to force him to change his plea from guilty to not guilty, again he answered, "No, your Honor." He was then asked if he knew "this means that you are admitting guilt on both counts, and he said: "Yes, your Honor." Appellant was then asked if he admitted "those facts right here in open court," and he said: "Yes, sir." And, the judge added, "without any reservation on your mind whatsoever," and the repeated answer was: "Yes, sir." Appellant also said that he was physically "okay" although "nervous, your Honor."
In the light of these detailed admissions we find no reason to require a hearing on the claim of inducement or ignorance or misapprehension of the law with reference to the plea. The judge explained the law in detail, and appellant stated that he understood and twice denied...
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