United States v. Rudolph Valentino Henderson

Henderson appeals from an order denying his motions for leave to withdraw his guilty plea and for a reduction of his sentence. We affirm.

On April 19, 1976, Henderson pled guilty to a charge of transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2421 . The plea was entered pursuant to an agreement embodied in a written “Petition to Enter Plea of Guilty.” In that petition defendant recited that the following promise as to disposition had been made to him by the United States Attorney:

Henderson had previously been sentenced to a term of four years after pleading guilty to an unrelated narcotics offense. This is the “other charge” mentioned in the plea agreement. In pertinent part, and in the same section, the petition also provided:

The trial judge discussed the terms of the plea agreement with Henderson when the plea was offered on April 5,1976, and again on April 19,1976. jWe set out the colloquies between the judge and Henderson in the margin. As these colloquies show, the judge made it as clear to Henderson as anyone could that the portion of the agreement relating to the sentence was only a recommendation, and that there was no…