R. C. Jarvis v. United States

Convicted and sentenced on charges of attempt to escape ( 18 U.S.C. § 751 ) and assault upon a United States Marshal ( 18 U.S.C. § 111 ), Jarvis sought relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . This was denied and he appeals. We affirm.

Jarvis did not appeal his conviction, and in this proceeding he claims that his decision not to appeal was not voluntary because it was the result of a bargain whereby the United States Attorney, in return for his not appealing, agreed to procure dismissal of a pending Dyer Act charge ( 18 U.S.C. § 2312 ) under which he was being held at the time of the attempted escape and assault. The District Judge held a hearing at which Jarvis, his trial counsel and the deputy United States attorney who prosecuted the case were witnesses. The court found:

On this appeal, Jarvis attacks the finding. He also argued in the District Court that his trial was infected with certain errors, namely (1) that the court should have granted a severance of his trial from that of a co-defendant, Hathaway who was involved in the same incident, (2) that because Hathaway elected to testify, and did so in a manner not helpful to Jarvis, he was compelled to take the stand in his own…