United States v. Eddie Lee King

Appellant, on his plea of guilty, was convicted of filing a false and fraudulent income tax return in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206 (1). Before sentencing, the district court denied his motion to withdraw the guilty plea and from that denial he appeals. We affirm.

ISSUE

The sole issue presented to us is whether the district court abused its discretion in denying appellant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

DISCUSSION

The motion to withdraw a plea of guilty is governed by Rule 32(d), FRCrimP. While a motion to withdraw a guilty plea prior to sentencing should be freely allowed, Kercheval v. United States, 274 U.S. 220, 224 , 47 S.Ct. 582, 583 , 71 L.Ed. 1009 (1927); United States v. Vasquez-Velasco, 471 F.2d 294 (CA9 1973), cert. denied 411 U.S. 970 , 93 S.Ct. 2163 , 36 L.Ed.2d 692 , the question is committed to the sound discretion of the district court. Vasquez-Velasco, supra; United States v. Del Valle-Rojas, 463 F.2d 228, 229 (CA9 1972); Leano v. United States, 457 F.2d 1208 (CA9 1972), cert. denied 409 U.S. 889 , 93 S.Ct. 162 , 34 L.Ed.2d 146 ; United States v. Fragoso-Gastellum, 456 F.2d 1287 (CA9 1972), cert. denied 406 U.S. 970 , 92 S.Ct. 2427 , 32 L.Ed.2d 669 .…