Milton Joseph Brown v. United States

Appellant was convicted of violation of the narcotics laws in 1975, and after his conviction was affirmed by this Court, he filed a motion to vacate sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . The appeal in No. 78-2558 is from the final order of the district court denying relief under that Section. The appeal in No. 78-2557 is from an earlier non-appealable order and must be and is dismissed. The issue sought to be raised therein, however, is properly considered in the appeal from the final order.

Appellant contends that the attorney who represented him at his trial was simultaneously representing a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who would testify against him. Administrative proceedings had been initiated against the agent before the trial commenced; they resulted in his eventual dismissal from the DEA. At the trial (which was some weeks before his dismissal) the agent testified that he was present with several other officers when appellant was arrested and, while other agents were conducting a search of appellant’s home, appellant told him that the narcotics which had been discovered in appellant’s bedroom were his. At the trial, the agent was cross-examined, but not extensively.…