Court Opinion

ID: 9472389
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 03:58:42.437188+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:42:54.475685
License: Public Domain

CLARK, Chief Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s holding that Patterson is not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the disputed factual question whether he involuntarily pled guilty to the charges against him. I agree with the majority that Patterson must plead and prove prejudice to secure section 2255 relief. But since he has alleged prejudice in his pleadings and since it is not conclusively contradicted by the record, Patterson is now entitled to an opportunity to prove it.
Section 2255 requires a hearing on a motion “[ujnless the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255; see Mack v. Smith, 659 F.2d 23, 25 (5th Cir.1981); United States v. Auten, 632 F.2d 478, 482 (5th Cir.1980); C. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure § 599 (1982). It is beyond question that if Patterson’s allegations in his motion are true, he would be entitled to relief. See McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 466, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 1170, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969). Thus, the initial issue for us on appeal should be whether the record conclusively shows that Patterson voluntarily pled guilty to the charges against him.
In his motion Patterson made these allegations:
Defendant Patterson did plea “guilty” in violation of Rule 11, F.R.C.P., in that he was not informed pursuant to Rule 11(c); Advice to Defendant Numbers (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). This plea was entered unintelligently and resulted in Defendant entering a plea of guilty to charges he is innocent of, i.e. conspiracy to make counterfeit currency. A copy of the sentencing transcript is attached as Exhibit “A”.
Defendant did likewise' unknowingly and unintelligently plea guilty to these charges without knowledge of the required “intent” to defraud. The Agent of the government in this case was fully aware that the currency in question was counterfeit and there was NEVER any other misrepresentation to the contrary made by the Defendant.
The clear signal from this pro se response to the form motion’s question is that had Patterson known intent to defraud was an element of the crime with which he was charged, he would not have pled guilty. The government responded to Patterson’s motion by relying on the transcript from the plea hearing. It was on this record that the district court based its decision denying a hearing. The majority, however, concedes that the district court’s questions to Patterson and his attorney during the plea hearing could not have enabled the court to determine whether Patterson understood the nature of the charges to which his plea was made. This concession is enough to preclude us as well from drawing the same conclusion.
I do not say that Patterson has proven prejudice sufficient to warrant section 2255 relief. I only say that under our case law he is entitled to the opportunity through an evidentiary hearing to prove prejudice.1

. By its reliance on Bryan v. United States, 492 F.2d 775 (5th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1079, 95 S.Ct. 668, 42 L.Ed.2d 674 (1974), the district court apparently construed Patterson’s motion as an attempt to change his answers made at the plea hearing. But Bryan and Patterson’s case are different. Patterson does not seek to change his answers after a full and fair plea hearing; rather, he seeks a hearing based on his allegation that had he been informed of the charges as Rule 11 expressly requires, he would have pled differently.