Howard S. Miller v. United States

Appellant and five codefendants were charged in a thirty count indictment with mail fraud ( 18 U.S.C. § 1841 ) and fraud in sale of securities (15 U.S.C. § 77q(a) and 77x). Appellant originally pled not guilty. After one change of retained counsel, appellant and another defendant (McDonald) requested leave to withdraw their pleas of not guilty, and enter new pleas. Miller pleaded nolo con-tendere to counts one through thirty; McDonald to counts one, two and eighteen. The case went to trial as to all remaining defendants. The trial lasted two months, during which appellant was on the stand testifying for several days. One defendant was acquitted and two defendants entered pleas of nolo con-tendere to one count, and one defendant pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

At time for sentencing on the nolo pleas, counsel for appellant and McDonald, acting for both, informally raised a question as to McDonald’s plea of nolo contendere. At the time for sentencing, counsel for both defendants requested a continuance of sixty days on behalf of both defendants, primarily to determine if defendant McDonald had voluntarily withdrawn his plea of not guilty and voluntarily entered his nolo contendere…