Rowan Richerson v. United States

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington which denied, without a hearing, a motion to vacate sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . We have jurisdiction of the appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

Appellant was convicted in 1964 of transporting a forged security in interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2, following his plea of guilty to that charge. He was sentenced for ten years to the custody of the Attorney General, and that sentence was later modified to eight years, ten months and five days imprisonment.

Thereafter, appellant on November 3, 1965 filed a motion pursuant to 28 U.S. C. § 2255 in which he alleged (a) without particulars as to time or place, that two unnamed F.B.I. agents had promised if he pleaded guilty, the State of Washington would drop state charges against him; and (b) that a named probation officer and Assistant United States Attorney had agreed just before the arraignment to recommend a five year sentence and commitment to the United States Public Health Service in return for a guilty plea. The district court denied this motion by order dated November 5, 1965, and later…