UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Richard Edward STEARNS, Defendant-Appellant

Richard Edward Stearns pled guilty to two counts of bank robbery. 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a). He was sentenced and did not appeal, but about two years later he filed a petition which alleged that his attorney had failed to file a notice of appeal, as requested. 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . The district court denied the petition, and Stearns appeals. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Stearns was charged with the robbery of a bank in Medford, Oregon. He pled guilty to that charge, but before his sentencing he was charged with the further crime of robbing a bank in Bonita, California. That case was transferred to the federal district court in Oregon, and he pled guilty to that charge also.

On February 5, 1992, the district court sentenced him on both charges, and no appeal followed. However, on February 1, 1994, Stearns filed a petition under 18 U.S.C. § 2255 in which he alleged, among other things, that his attorney was ineffective because she “failed to advise him of his right to appeal his sentence, and failed to file a timely notice of appeal.” He added that he “had expressed his desire so to do to counsel.” In a letter to Stearns, counsel had indicated that…