Opinion ID: 2976174
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Tate’s conviction

Text: Tate was indicted in August of 2005 on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Pursuant to a plea agreement, Tate pled guilty to the charge in October of 2005. He was originally represented by an assistant federal defender, but after Tate filed a motion for new counsel and the federal defender informed the district court that Tate had been uncooperative and refused to meet with him, the court appointed attorney Robert Irby to represent Tate. A Presentence Report (PSR) was prepared, after which both parties filed sentencing memoranda. The sentencing hearing was set for January of 2006, but based on Tate’s repeated requests for more time to prepare, the district court continued the hearing several times. When the sentencing hearing finally took place in May of 2006, Tate stated that he wished to withdraw his guilty plea. The district court permitted Tate to withdraw his plea and then set the trial date for June of 2006. At Tate’s request, the district court later reset the trial date. Tate’s case finally proceeded to trial in August of 2006 and, after a two-day hearing, the jury convicted him on the charge in the indictment. Meanwhile, despite being represented by counsel, Tate submitted a series of pro se filings to the court between April and October of 2006. These filings, and Tate’s statements to the district court, were couched in the language and concepts found in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Irby filed a motion for a psychological examination in June of 2006, explaining that Tate had been saying “strange things” to Irby and to the district court and that Irby did not know how or why Tate was making the UCC-based pro se filings. In that motion, Irby further stated that he was “searching to find out how to help” Tate, and that Irby “need[ed] to have [Tate] evaluated to know his mental status[.]” But that motion was withdrawn less than a week later without explanation. Also during this time, after Tate’s initial sentencing hearing but before his trial, Irby filed a motion to withdraw as Tate’s counsel. Irby reported that Tate had refused to accept his advice and that he was “unable to effectively deliver legal services” to Tate because their attorney-client relationship “no longer exist[ed], or else never existed.” After conducting a hearing on the motion and listening to Irby discuss Tate’s refusal to cooperate, the district court denied Irby’s motion to withdraw.