United States v. Steven Avery

MEMORANDUM

In this direct criminal appeal, Appellant Steven Avery contends the district court erred by failing to treat a pro se letter Avery mailed to the district court as a motion to withdraw Avery’s guilty plea and hold a hearing on the matter. In the letter, Avery asserts that he was innocent of the crimes to which he pleaded guilty and that his counsel coerced him into doing so by telling Avery that he would die in prison if he did not “throw [himself] on the mercy of the Court.” We affirm the judgment because we conclude that the district court did not plainly err in failing to determine whether it should vacate Avery’s plea of guilty in response to his pro se letter.

Neither party disputes the fact that Avery mailed the letter to the district court before the sentencing hearing. The record does not contain any evidence that the district judge himself received or read the letter. The Government does not contend in its responsive brief, however, that the district judge was not aware of the contents of the letter.

No motion was made to set aside Avery’s guilty plea during the sentencing proceeding, nor was any reference made to Avery’s pro se letter by him or his counsel.…