Opinion ID: 774104
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: King's Plea

Text: 13 At a July 20, 1999 status hearing, King informed the court that he wished to plead guilty to counts 24 through 42 of the indictment. In response to questioning from the court, King stated he had discussed with his attorney the nature of the charges against him, the necessary elements of proof and possible defenses. He also said he was satisfied with the representation he had received. When asked specifically about the Final Notice scheme charges to which he was pleading guilty, King stated that he had intended to pay out shares of a $10,000 fund to all recipients who responded to his mailing, but failed to send payments to 18 of them. The government contended King's statement failed to make out a factual basis for mail fraud because he had not admitted making false statements in the postcards. King responded, I'm not pleading guilty to any false statements because as far as I'm concerned there were no false statements. I'm pleading guilty to mail fraud for non-fulfillment of prizes. Despite the government's concerns, the court accepted King's plea after determining that it was made intelligently and voluntarily. Still fearing the factual basis for the plea might be lacking, the government filed a Further Submission by Government in Support of Factual Basis for Guilty Pleas, in which it argued that additional evidence in the record supported a finding that the postcards contained false statements and that King intended to defraud the recipients. 14 At a hearing on August 31, 1999, King's attorney objected to the government's proposed submission and argued that the factual basis from the earlier hearing was adequate to allow for sentencing. The court found the prior record was sufficient to demonstrate King's admission of guilt was knowing, intelligent and uncoerced. It sentenced King to 71 months in prison and ordered him to pay $302,000 in restitution to the United States Postal Service. 15 At a hearing on September 14, 1999, King moved to withdraw his earlier plea, contending his actions did not meet the legal definition of mail fraud and that he would not have pled guilty if he had known the potential extent of his sentence. The court proposed holding another hearing October 5 to give King an opportunity to consult with his lawyer about the wisdom of withdrawing his plea in the interim. King did not agree to this delay, as it would have entailed waiver of his rights under the Speedy Trial Act. At the close of the hearing, the court again proposed conducting another status hearing on October 5. The record does not reflect whether this proposed status conference ever took place. 16 Judgment was entered December 17, 1999, relating back nunc pro tunc to the sentencing dates, August 31, 1999 and September 14, 1999. King filed a timely notice of appeal.