David W. Olney v. United States

Petitioner-appellant Olney was convicted of nine counts under an indictment charging him with possession, etc., of heroin in violation of the Federal narcotics laws. 21 U.S.C. § 174 , 26 U. S.C. §§ 4704(a), 4705(a). The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal to this court.

This appeal arises out of his petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 for release from custody filed in the district court. The district court denied the petition without a hearing after considering the government’s answer and appellant’s response. We affirm.

Appellant raises numerous grounds in support of his petition. To the extent that they are cognizable under a § 2255 petition, we shall deal with each of them separately.

We dispose initially of two of appellant’s claims which are most readily susceptible of summary disposition. First, appellant claims that telephone conversations between an informant and himself were monitored by the government and the contents thereof improperly admitted into evidence. Second, he claims that the statutory presumption found in 21 U.S. C. § 174 is violative of his rights under the Fifth Amendment.

As to the monitored telephone conversations, we note that this was the precise…