Willie Charles Hill v. United States

On January 17, 1958 a jury found appellant guilty of a sale of narcotics in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174 as charged in an indictment returned by the Grand Jury for the Southern District of Cali- fomia. This appeal is taken from an order of the District Court denying a motion to vacate the judgment of conviction. The only question presented is whether an alleged failure by the government to establish venue at the trial requires reversal by this court.

Appellant failed to take a timely direct appeal from the judgment below and the District Court properly treated his motion as a collateral attack upon the judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . That section, by its terms, applies to a motion to vacate a sentence by a federal court upon the ground that it was “imposed in violation of the constitutional laws of the United States, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence”.

Appellant alleges, inter alia, that this appeal raises a constitutional question and charges violation of his rights under the Sixth Amendment. He contends that the venue of the offense of which he was convicted was not proven at the trial and that he was thus deprived of his…