James Fox v. Charles L. Ryan

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner-Appellant James Fox appeals the district court’s denial of habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . We affirm.

Fox turned down a favorable plea deal and, after he was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 27 years in custody, moved for post-conviction relief, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to warn him that his sentences on the multiple counts could be consecutive. What occurred following the state court’s grant of post-conviction relief was unusual. The post-conviction court vacated Fox’s sentence of 15.75 years for trafficking in stolen property and 11.25 years for attempted trafficking, both sentences to run consecutively — but the court did not vacate his convictions following a jury trial. The court then conducted a plea colloquy where Fox pleaded guilty to a count of which he had already been convicted, which conviction was still valid. When the state post-conviction court subsequently realized it made a mistake, it vacated the “second” guilty plea and resentenced Fox on the original convictions so that the 15.75 year term and the 11.25 year term would run concurrently. The end result of the court’s actions is that Fox’s total…