United States v. Jose Maria Sandoval-Lopez

This case involves a petition for a writ of habeas corpus by a prisoner who claims that his lawyer rendered him ineffective assistance by failing to file a notice of appeal.

Facts

Sandoval-Lopez was caught in Yakima, Washington, with fifteen pounds of heroin hidden in the manifold of his pickup truck. He had told a man who helped him with the mechanical work, and who turned out to be an undercover informant, that he regularly smuggled heroin in his truck from Mexico, for distribution in Washington and Oregon.

Though he was indicted for possession with the intent to distribute this very large quantity of heroin, his lawyer worked out a plea bargain — only seven years to serve for misprison of felony and use of a communication facility to facilitate the distribution of a controlled substance. Through this deal, defense counsel managed to obtain a remarkably favorable agreement to plead to a superseding information with statutory máximums of four and three years respectively, thereby avoiding the risk of a much longer sentence for possession with intent to distribute.

In his written plea agreement, Sandoval-Lopez waived his right to appeal. The agreement stated: “The defendant…