Opinion ID: 167470
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mr. Graham’s case history

Text: On March 3, 1999, the federal government obtained the original indictment against Mr. Graham and three co-defendants for armed bank robbery and related charges. At that time, Mr. Graham was serving a 120-month sentence with the Kansas Department of Corrections (“KDOC”). On March 10, the United States Marshal’s Service lodged a non-IADA detainer against Mr. Graham with the KDOC; the detainer was captioned as a “Detainer Against Unsentenced Prisoner.” According to Mr. Graham, he was not given a copy of the federal detainer, though he became aware of it when the KDOC entered it on his inmate record. The government subsequently requested a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum to take temporary custody of Mr. Graham. The United States District Court for the District of Kansas issued the writ. On March 31, Mr. Graham was transferred to federal custody from a KDOC facility, and he was arraigned on April 2. Counsel was appointed and appeared with him at the arraignment. The district court detained Mr. Graham pending federal trial. -4- On May 3, 1999, the government filed a motion to dismiss Mr. Graham’s indictment without prejudice. Two of Mr. Graham’s co-defendants were not yet available for trial because of trial or sentencing proceedings in other jurisdictions. The government sought dismissal to avoid multiple trials, expecting the other two defendants to be available within the next few weeks. The government did not serve Mr. Graham or his counsel with a copy of the motion, and the district court did not hold a hearing on the motion. The next day, the court dismissed the indictment without prejudice, and Mr. Graham was returned to KDOC custody on May 19. According to Mr. Graham, the government did not remove the federal detainer during his return to KDOC custody. On January 12, 2000, the government filed a superceding indictment against Mr. Graham and his co-defendants. The district court again issued a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum. Mr. Graham was transferred to federal custody on February 9 and arraigned. Counsel representing Mr. Graham on the original indictment also represented him on the superceding indictment. The district court detained Mr. Graham pending his federal trial. Through counsel he filed several pre-trial motions, including a motion to sever trial from his codefendants. The district court granted the motion to sever his trial. On July 5, 2000, Mr. Graham pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery as charged in the superceding indictment. Under the plea agreement, the -5- remaining count was dismissed. Prior to sentencing, Mr. Graham sent a letter to the district court stating that he had not been satisfied with his attorney’s failure to investigate and explain to him his IADA rights. Mr. Graham pointed out that he had been “under sentence” in KDOC custody when the federal government incorrectly lodged its non-IADA detainer against him. The record does not show that the district court responded to Mr. Graham’s letter. On October 4, 2000, the court sentenced Mr. Graham to 188 months’ imprisonment, followed by 36 months’ supervised release. He was returned to KDOC custody on October 18, and the federal detainer against him was cancelled. Mr. Graham did not directly appeal his conviction or sentence. On July 27, 2001, he timely filed a § 2255 habeas motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence. Mr. Graham argued that (1) his trial counsel’s ineffective assistance had resulted in an involuntary guilty plea; and (2) he had been denied effective assistance of counsel at a critical stage of the proceedings, when the district court dismissed his original indictment without prejudice on May 4, 1999. The district court denied habeas relief in November 2001. It concluded that a violation of the IADA was not a constitutional violation, and “[a]bsent special circumstances, violations of the IADA are not a basis for collateral attack on a conviction.” Rec. doc. 202, at 1 (Order, filed Nov. 20, 2001) (citing Greathouse v. United States, 655 F.2d 1032, 1034 (10th Cir. 1981)). The court did not address Mr. Graham’s -6- Sixth Amendment claims. Mr. Graham subsequently filed a motion to amend the judgment and to make additional findings of fact. In April 2004, the district court again denied his claims. The court, however, briefly analyzed the ineffective-assistance claim. It stated: “The court has reviewed the record, transcripts, and pleadings, and finds that defendant received effective assistance of counsel as defined in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984).” Rec. doc. 216, at 6 (Mem. and Order, filed April 22, 2004). Mr. Graham timely appealed the denial of habeas relief. On July 29, 2005, this court appointed counsel for him and granted a certificate of appealability (“COA”) on two issues: (1) [Mr. Graham’s] contention that his guilty plea was involuntary because his counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to advise him that his rights under the IADA had been violated; [and] (2) [Mr. Graham’s] contention that he was denied the assistance of counsel at a critical stage of the proceeding–namely, the dismissal of the original indictment without prejudice. Order, filed July 29, 2005; see also 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (providing that a appellate court may issue a COA “if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right”). As to Mr. Graham’s first claim, he asks us to reverse the district court’s decision denying habeas relief and to vacate his sentence based on the involuntariness of his plea agreement. In the alternative, -7- Mr. Graham seeks a remand to the district court for an evidentiary hearing. Under his second claim, he contends he is entitled to a more lenient standard of review because the ineffective assistance of counsel implicated a critical stage of the district court’s proceedings.