Stidham v. United States
Decision Date | 02 November 1948 |
Docket Number | No. 13765.,13765. |
Citation | 170 F.2d 294 |
Parties | STIDHAM v. UNITED STATES. |
Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
James William Stidham, pro se.
Sam M. Wear, U. S. Atty. and David A. Thompson, Asst. U. S. Atty., both of Kansas City, Mo., for appellee.
Before THOMAS and JOHNSEN, Circuit Judges.
This is an appeal in forma pauperis from an order denying a motion to vacate a judgment sentencing James William Stidham to a term of five years imprisonment upon his plea of guilty to an indictment pending against him in the Western District of Missouri, and to grant him leave to withdraw his plea of guilty thereto.
The indictment in the case was returned May 21, 1947. It charged that on or about May 10, 1947, James William Stidham transported a stolen motor vehicle, to-wit, a 1946 Cadillac sedan, from Birmingham, Alabama, to Kansas City, Missouri, and that he then knew the motor vehicle to have been stolen, in violation of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act (The Dyer Act), 18 U.S.C.A. § 408.1
The case came on for hearing before Judge John C. Collet, then district judge, on July 1, 1947, when the following proceedings were had:
The Defendant: I don't want an attorney from the Court.
Statements were then made by the assistant district attorney, David A. Thompson, and the district attorney, Sam M. Wear, with further statements and explanations by the defendant. Mr. Thompson read a written statement signed by the defendant, which recited the details of the stealing of the automobile and driving it from Birmingham to Kansas City. Then followed:
On April 21, 1948, the defendant filed his verified motion from the denial of which this appeal was taken. The motion captioned "(Motion for Relief From Judgment)", recites that "Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 32(d) of the New Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 18 U.S.C.A. * * * the defendant * * * moves the * * * Court to vacate the judgment and sentence imposed on the indictment herein and to grant the defendant * * * leave to withdraw the plea of guilty heretofore entered to said indictment * * *"
As grounds for the motion the defendant alleged that he did not commit the offense charged; that he was denied the right to have the aid and advice of counsel and the right to withdraw the plea of guilty in violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution; that his plea of guilty was coerced through the deceit and trickery of counsel for the United States prior to the plea of guilty; that he had prepared a notice of appeal and mailed the same to the United States Attorney who withheld the same from the court; that his plea of guilty and failure to appeal were thus due to excusable neglect; and that as a result he has been deprived of his liberty without due process of law.
Affidavits in opposition to the motion denying the charges of deceit and trickery were filed by the United States Marshal, by a deputy United States Marshal, and by the Assistant United States Attorney who had charge of the prosecution.
The motion was submitted to Judge R. M. Duncan on April 30, 1948, and after due consideration was denied. Judge Duncan in a lengthy opinion reviewed the record, the defendant's written confession and the affidavits and found that defendant's statements in his motion were not founded upon facts; that all persons in the district attorney's office who had any connection with the case had filed affidavits which set forth that they made no such representations to the...
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...the defendant was surprised by the severity of the sentence. Williams v. United States, 5 Cir., 1951, 192 F.2d 39; Stidham v. United States, supra, 8 Cir., 170 F.2d 294; United States v. Norstrand Corp., 2 Cir., 1948, 168 F.2d 481; United States v. Colonna, supra, 3 Cir., 142 F.2d 210. So a......
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