United States v. Bill Eugene Read

Read contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to set aside his guilty plea and in failing to disclose information about his alleged prior criminal activities upon which the district court relied in sentencing him.

When, as here, a defendant moves to set aside his guilty plea before sentencing, the motion should be freely allowed in the interests of justice. (Kadwell v. United States, 315 F.2d 667 (9th Cir. 1963).) However, the granting of the motion lies in the sound discretion of the district court. From our review of the record, we do not believe that the district court abused its discretion in rejecting the motion.

Read’s second contention is meritorious. During Read’s sentencing proceedings, his counsel challenged the factual foundation of a number of statements in the presentence report. The district court continued the sentencing hearing for the purpose of further investigation. Upon the return date, the court said:

Immediately thereafter the district court committed Read to custody for seven years.

We recognize the rule that federal sentences are not generally reviewable, Gore v. United States, 357 U.S. 386, 393 , 78 S.Ct. 1280, 1284 , 2…