James W. Wheeler v. United States

In 1974, petitioner Wheeler was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by the district court of the Western District of Washington. Two weeks after sentencing, Judge William N. Goodwin, the trial judge, issued an order directing Wheeler’s custodian to prevent Wheeler from communicating with ten named individuals. The judge entered the order without prior notice to Wheeler and without a hearing at which Wheeler was either present or represented.

After Judge Goodwin’s death, Wheeler filed this petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate the post-sentencing order. The district court dismissed the petition. We reverse the district court’s order of dismissal and remand to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTS

Petitioner Wheeler was convicted of bank robbery after a trial and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. During the trial Wheeler admittedly attempted to persuade Donna Joiner to testify in his behalf. The allegedly harassing tactics used by Wheeler to persuade Ms. Joiner included several attempts to expose to her family and military superiors certain information that discredited her. Because Wheeler…