Vernon Glenn Bell v. United States

On November 24, 1958, appellant filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis asserting, inter alia, that he was mentally incompetent when he pleaded guilty on November 18, 1957, to charges under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2312 and 751 (1958). The petition alleged that in a psychiatric-examination report dated May 1, 1957, made in connection with Arizona state criminal proceedings, the following description of appellant appears:

In an affidavit attached to the petition appellant set forth additional excerpts from the alleged report. According to these excerpts the examination disclosed that appellant’s “orientation is vague and there are present vague persecutory perceptions,” although he was not psychotic. Hospitalization for mental treatment was recommended. The only other pertinent evidence in the record before the District Court was the transcript of the proceedings of November 18, 1957, at which he waived counsel and pleaded guilty.

The District Court treated the petition for writ of error coram nobis as a motion to vacate sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (1952) and denied relief without a hearing. We think the court properly treated the petition as a motion under section 2255 but that…