Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-02043/USCOURTS-ca8-05-02043-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
United States of America
Appellee
Maurice Wilkins
Appellant

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Linda R. Reade, United States District Judge for the Northern

District of Iowa.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-2043

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* Northern District of Iowa.

Maurice Wilkins, *

also known as Face, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: April 27, 2006

Filed: May 5, 2006

___________

Before ARNOLD, BYE, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Maurice Wilkins pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more

of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and the district court1

 sentenced him

to 210 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release. On appeal, he challenges

the district court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

Appellate Case: 05-2043 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/05/2006 Entry ID: 2041479
-2-

We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying

Mr. Wilkins’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea because he did not establish a fair

and just reason for withdrawing it. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B); United States

v. Austin, 413 F.3d 856, 857 (8th Cir. 2005) (per curiam) (standard of review). After

listening to Mr. Wilkins’s testimony and the testimony of his former attorney, the

district court credited the attorney’s version of events. See United States v. Zavala,

427 F.3d 562, 565 (8th Cir. 2005) (district court's determination of witness credibility

is virtually unreviewable on appeal).

To the extent that Mr. Wilkins seeks to raise an independent claim of

ineffective assistance of counsel, he must do so in a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion rather

than in this direct appeal. See United States v. Turner, 431 F.3d 332, 336 n.4 (8th

Cir. 2005).

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 05-2043 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/05/2006 Entry ID: 2041479