Opinion ID: 655362
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: It [the affidavit] was sent [to me] last year, 1991.

Text: 9 Q. Now, this is before your son pleaded guilty. [This sentence makes sense only as a transition to the next question, since the affidavit clearly was prepared well after Jennings pleaded guilty.] Did you ever discuss with him what you had learned from Mr. Klemp about Mr. Klemp having some real estate dealing with some relative of Charlotte Ann Smith? 10 A. Yeah. I talked to him about it. 11 Q. Did he say anything about it? 12 A. No. 13 Q. Was this when he was in the county jail [and therefore before his Rule 24.035 limitations period began to run]? 14 A. Yeah. 15 Deposition of Ollie Jean Jennings at 17. 16 Jennings claims that Klemp rendered ineffective assistance by convincing him to plead guilty when he had a viable consent defense. Jennings cites the following exchange, which took place when Jennings pleaded guilty, to support his allegation that he wanted to claim that the victim had consented: 17 THE COURT: Q. By pleading guilty are you admitting to the Court that you did in fact commit that act? 18 A. Uhh--Okay. 19 The Defendant: Let me talk to you for a minute, Mr. Kemp [sic]. 20 MR. KLEMP: All right. He, he, he says that she agreed-- 21 THE COURT: No, no. Let's-- 22 MR. KLEMP: I'm just-- 23 THE COURT: Let's go off the record and allow the Defendant an opportunity to confer with his attorney. 24 Why don't y'all go back there and talk about this for a minute. 25 Transcript of Plea of Guilty at 5. 26 The District Court referred Jennings's habeas petition to a magistrate judge, who, after allowing discovery but without conducting an evidentiary hearing, found that, because Jennings's mother knew of Klemp's ties with the victim's family, Jennings had available to him the factual basis of his claim before his Rule 24.035 time had expired. The magistrate judge then concluded that Jennings could not demonstrate cause for his procedural default, and recommended that the petition be denied. The District Court, also without conducting an evidentiary hearing, found that Jennings had known of Klemp's dealings with the victim's mother before he pleaded guilty. The court denied Jennings's petition, as recommended by the magistrate judge. 27 On appeal, Jennings contends there was insufficient evidence in the record to allow the District Court to find that Jennings knew of Klemp's alleged conflict of interest before the time to attack Jennings's conviction expired, and that the District Court erred by denying his request for an evidentiary hearing. We agree, and we vacate the District Court's judgment and remand for an evidentiary hearing on this issue.