Phillip Daniels v. United States

This appeal is from an order of the District Court for the Territory of Alaska, Third Division, denying a motion of appellant, Phillip Daniels, filed in the District Court on September 29, 1956. The motion was purportedly based on 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 , the pertinent provisions of which are as follows:

As indicated above, § 2255 applies only to a prisoner in custody under a sentence of a court established by Act of Congress and claiming the right to be released upon one or more of the grounds mentioned in § 2255. It appeared from the motion that appellant was a prisoner in custody under a sentence of a court established by Act of Congress, namely, a sentence of the District Court that appellant be imprisoned for life—a sentence imposed on December 3, 1952. However, appellant did not claim the right to be released upon any of the grounds mentioned in § 2255 or upon any other ground. Instead, appellant, in and by the motion, sought to have the District Court vacate and set aside his life sentence and to impose, in lieu thereof, a sentence to imprisonment for 10 years only. The files and records of the case showed the following facts:

On October 22, 1952, appellant was indicted in…