Court Opinion

ID: 9496935
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:39:19.64513+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:54.002138
License: Public Domain

WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
The effect of the majority opinion is to require an evidentiary hearing nearly every time a prisoner files a § 2255 petition alleging that he was induced to plead guilty by an oral promise from the prosecutor. It is undisputed in this case that White signed an unambiguous and unconditional plea agreement and swore during his Rule 11 plea colloquy that he understood the written plea agreement and that no one had made any other promises to him to induce him to plead guilty. I believe that, given these facts, White’s later unsupported assertion in his sworn § 2255 petition that the prosecutor made an oral promise that he could appeal the denial of his suppression motion is insufficient to overcome the presumption that the statements he made during his Rule 11 plea colloquy are accurate and truthful. Accordingly, I do not believe that an evidentiary hearing is necessary or appropriate in this case, and I respectfully dissent.
Because the conceded ineffectiveness of White’s trial counsel made White’s guilty plea involuntary, I would affirm the district court’s vacatur of White’s conviction and sentence and remand the case for trial.1
I.
On November 17, 1997, White pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. White’s unconditional plea agreement contained the following clause: “This agreement constitutes the full and complete understanding among the parties.” (J.A. at 92.) As the majority acknowledges, White affirmed this written agreement at his Rule 11 plea colloquy and stated that the agreement “accurately reflected” his agreement with the Government, and that, “aside from the written plea agreement, [no one had] made any other promise or assurance to [him] of any kind in any effort to induce [him] to plead guilty.” (J.A. at 359.) White also stated that he had reviewed and fully understood the plea agreement.2
*304Both White’s trial counsel, Heilberg, and the prosecutor3 participated in the plea colloquy. When the district court reviewed the plea agreement during the colloquy, it questioned both Heilberg and the prosecutor about the agreement’s contents. At that time, neither attorney asserted that he had orally agreed that the plea was conditional. At the conclusion of the Rule 11 colloquy, the district court asked Heil-berg and the prosecutor if there was “anything further in the case ... other than to set up a sentencing.” (J.A. at 368.) Again, neither attorney mentioned having agreed that the plea was conditional or asserted that the written plea agreement was incomplete.
After the district court accepted White’s plea, White attempted to appeal the denial of his pretrial suppression motion, but we dismissed his appeal because he had not preserved his right to appeal as required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(a)(2) (West Supp.2003). United States v. White, 1999 WL 371610 (4th Cir.1999) (unpublished). White then filed a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp.2003) to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence.
In his sworn § 2255 petition, White asserted that his guilty plea was not voluntary and knowing because his attorney had advised him that “he could appeal the denial of his suppression motion after he pled guilty,” and because he “was induced [to plead guilty] by the prosecutor’s fraudulent oral agreement that the plea was conditional.” (J.A. at 44.) Attached to his § 2255 petition were a letter and an affidavit from Heilberg. In the letter, dated October 30, 1997, approximately three weeks before White pleaded guilty, Heil-berg wrote, “As you can see from the Wilson4 case, you can appeal Judge Kiser’s ruling even after your guilty plea. This is probably the course that you must choose.... ” (J.A. at 63.) In the affidavit in support of White’s § 2255 motion, Heil-berg averred that he had made an “inaccurate prediction about White’s right to appeal” and “mistakenly] assur[ed] ... White [that he] could appeal.” (J.A. at 60.) Heilberg’s affidavit does not state, however, that he orally agreed with the prosecutor that White’s guilty plea would be conditional, nor did Heilberg state that he had informed White of any such agreement. (J.A. at 59-60.) Instead, Heilberg blamed White’s predicament on Heilberg’s “mistaken promise” and “admitted ineffec*305tiveness.” (J.A. at 59.) The Government, relying on Heilberg’s affidavit, conceded that White had received ineffective assistance of counsel and asked that the court to set aside White’s guilty plea and schedule the case for trial.5 (J.A. at 133-35 (“In reaching this conclusion, the United States relies exclusively on the affidavit of David Heilberg, Esq.”).)
The district court then granted White’s § 2255 petition and gave him the remedy that normally follows a finding that a guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary' — the court vacated White’s guilty plea and instructed the clerk to set the case for trial. See, e.g., O’Tuel v. Osborne, 706 F.2d 498, 501 (4th Cir.1983) (holding that when a guilty plea is involuntary “the writ [of habeas corpus] should issue subject to the state’s right to bring [the defendant] to trial within a reasonable period of time”). Realizing that he would no longer receive the benefit of the reduced sentence that had accompanied his guilty plea,6 White appealed the district court’s remedy.
White avers that, based on the record, he is entitled to reformation of his plea agreement, so that it will reflect the terms of his alleged oral agreement with the prosecutor. In the alternative, White wants the district court to hold an eviden-tiary hearing so that he can prove the existence of the oral agreement and thus gain reformation of the plea agreement. In short, White wants both to keep the benefits of the favorable sentence that he received under his plea agreement and to be able to appeal the denial of his pretrial suppression motion.7 While I agree with my colleagues that White is not entitled to summary judgment on his claim for reformation of his plea agreement, see ante at 301, I do not believe that White is entitled *306to an evidentiary hearing. Accordingly, I would affirm the district court’s vacatur of White’s conviction and sentence and remand the case for trial.
II.
A.
Because this case does not involve the most extraordinary circumstances, the sworn statements that White made during his plea colloquy bar his subsequent attempt to prove that he relied on an oral promise made by the prosecutor. “Solemn declarations in open court carry a strong presumption of verity.” Blackledge v. Allison, 431 U.S. 63, 74, 97 S.Ct. 1621, 52 L.Ed.2d 136 (1977). “[R]epresentations of the defendant ... at [plea] hearing[s] ... constitute a formidable barrier in any subsequent collateral proceedings,” id. at 73-74, 97 S.Ct. 1621, because courts must be able to rely on the defendant’s statements made under oath during a properly conducted Rule 11 plea colloquy. United States v. Bowman, 348 F.3d 408, 417 (4th Cir.2003); see Crawford v. United States, 519 F.2d 347, 350 (4th Cir.1975) (“[T]he accuracy and truth of an accused’s statements at a Rule 11 proceeding in which his guilty plea is accepted are ‘conclusively’ established by that proceeding unless and until he makes some reasonable allegation why this should not be so.”), partially overruled on other grounds by United States v. Whitley, 759 F.2d 327 (4th Cir.1985) (en banc). “To allow indiscriminate hearings in federal post-conviction proceedings ... would eliminate the chief virtues of the plea system—speed, economy, and finality.” Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 71, 97 S.Ct. 1621. Accordingly, when a defendant attempts to contradict statements that he made during a properly conducted plea colloquy in a collateral attack on his sentence, he will be entitled to an eviden-tiary hearing “only in the most extraordinary circumstances.” Id. at 79 n. 19, 97 S.Ct. 1621.
My colleagues hold that a district court is required to hold an evidentiary hearing unless a habeas petitioner’s allegations, even those contradicting sworn statements made during his Rule 11 colloquy, are “ ‘palpably incredible’ or ‘patently frivolous or false.’ ”8 Ante at 296 (quoting Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 76, 97 S.Ct. 1621). I respectfully disagree that this is the proper test. My colleagues in the majority draw this proposition from Blackledge but neglect to consider the historical context in which Blackledge was decided and the critical factual difference between this case and Blackledge: here, unlike in Black-ledge, the district court conducted a proper Rule 11 plea colloquy.
Blackledge was decided shortly after the Supreme Court first blessed the practice of plea bargaining, see Santobello v. N.Y., 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971), and well before district courts had become familiar with the procedures mandated by Rule 11. Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 79, 97 S.Ct. 1621. Before Santobello, plea bargaining was generally kept secret, and defendants often were instructed to lie about the deal that they had received. Id. at 79 n. 17, 97 S.Ct. 1621. In Blackledge, the North Carolina court that had accepted the defendant Allison’s guilty plea had not conducted a plea colloquy in the modern sense, but instead “read from a printed form 13 questions, generally concerning *307the defendant’s understanding of the charge, its consequences, and the volun-tariness of his plea.” Id. at 65, 97 S.Ct. 1621. “So far as the record show[ed], there was no questioning beyond this routine; no inquiry was made of either defense counsel or prosecutor.” Id. In this context, the Supreme Court held that Allison’s specific allegation that he had been promised a certain sentence as part of a plea agreement was not “palpably incredible” or “patently frivolous or false,” and that he was thus entitled to an evidentiary hearing. Id. at 78, 97 S.Ct. 1621.
Had there been no properly conducted Rule 11 colloquy in this case, the “ ‘palpably incredible’ or ‘patently frivolous or false’ ” standard likely would apply. The Court in Blackledge noted approvingly, however, that North Carolina had, after the time of Allison’s plea, adopted procedures similar to those now dictated by Rule 11. Id. at 79 & n. 18, 97 S.Ct. 1621. The Court opined that “[h]ad these commendable procedures been followed ... Allison’s petition would have been cast in a very different light.” Id. The Court continued,
[A] petitioner challenging a plea given pursuant to procedures like those [required by Rule 11] ... will necessarily b[e] asserting that not only his own transcribed responses, but those given by two lawyers, were untruthful. Especially as it becomes routine for prosecutors and defense lawyers to acknowledge that plea bargains have been made, such a contention will entitle a petitioner to an evidentiary hearing only in the most extraordinary circumstances.
Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 80 n. 19, 97 S.Ct. 1621. Thus, Blackledge’s “palpably incredible” and “patently frivolous or false” language does not apply to cases in which “procedures like those” specified in Rule 11 are used.9Id. In such cases, like this one, habeas petitioners will be entitled to an evidentiary hearing only if the case presents “the most extraordinary circumstances.”10 Id.; see Lasiter v. Thomas, 89 *308F.3d 699, 702-03 (10th Cir.1996) (“[The petitioner] [i]s bound by his ‘solemn declarations in open court’ and his unsubstantiated efforts to refute that record [a]re not sufficient to require a hearing. This case does not involve ‘the most extraordinary circumstances.’ ”); Ouellette v. United States, 862 F.2d 371, 377-78 (1st Cir.1988) (holding that an evidentiary hearing is not required when a petitioner’s uncorroborated allegations are directly contradicted by his testimony at the time of his plea colloquy); Pennington v. Housewright, 666 F.2d 329, 331-33 (8th Cir.1981) (“The procedures followed in Pennington’s case are closer to those requiring a hearing ‘only in the most extraordinary circumstances.’ ... [Thus, t]he ... lack of any indication that evidence, other than Pennington’s allegations, would be forthcoming warranted the district court’s dismissal without a hearing.”).11
The only possible “extraordinary circumstance” that could justify holding an evidentiary hearing in this case is Heil-berg’s ineffectiveness. Unquestionably, Heilberg was constitutionally ineffective, and his ineffectiveness resulted in an unknowing and involuntary plea. But, as explained below, Heilberg’s ineffectiveness is immaterial to the reliability of the specific representations made by White during his plea colloquy. Accordingly, I do not believe that this case presents us with “the most extraordinary circumstances,” and I conclude that we are entitled to rely upon White’s sworn assertion that, aside from the written plea agreement, no one had “made any other promise or assurance to [him] of any kind in any effort to induce [him] to plead guilty.” (J.A. at 359.)
As the Government concedes, Heilberg erroneously promised White that he would be able to appeal the denial of his pretrial suppression motion despite his guilty plea. This admitted ineffectiveness, however, would not have induced White to conceal or deny the existence of an oral agreement with the prosecutor. White stated during his plea colloquy that he had gone over the plea agreement and understood it. It is undisputed that the plea agreement did not contain a term preserving his right to *309appeal the denial of his pretrial suppression motion, and that it contained an integration clause. At the plea colloquy, White agreed that no one had made “any other promise or assurance ... of any kind” to induce him to plead guilty and affirmed the written plea agreement. Although White might have believed that the plea agreement did not need a term preserving his right to appeal, this belief does not explain his failure to mention his alleged “oral agreement” with the prosecutor during his plea colloquy. Notably, White does not allege in his § 2255 petition that Heilberg or the prosecutor instructed him to keep the oral agreement a secret, or that either told him that the plea agreement contained a term preserving his right to appeal. Instead, he claims that the plea agreement failed “to alert[ ] him” that his guilty plea was “unconditional.” (J.A. at 44.) Although this evidences a misunderstanding of the law, it does not explain why he failed to note his alleged oral agreement with the prosecutor when asked if anyone had made “any other promises or assurances ... to induce [him] to plead guilty.” (J.A. at 359.)
Moreover, as the district court reviewed the plea agreement and questioned Heil-berg and the prosecutor about its contents, neither attorney averred that the plea was conditional. Therefore, White is, in essence, averring not only that he lied during his Rule 11 colloquy, but that both his attorney and the prosecutor remained silent when each had a duty to inform the court of any agreements not contained in the written plea agreement. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(c)(2) (“The parties must disclose the plea agreement in open court when the plea is offered....”); Bryan v. United States, 492 F.2d 775, 781 (5th Cir.1974) (“[T]he defendant and all counsel have a duty to disclose the existence and details of any agreement which relates to the plea tendered.”). This is exactly the situation that the Blackledge court noted would almost never entitle petitioners to evidentiary hearings. Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 80 n. 19, 97 S.Ct. 1621.
Because Heilberg’s ineffectiveness does not relate to or explain White’s sworn statement during the Rule 11 plea colloquy that he had received no promises not included in the plea agreement, this case does not present us with the type of extraordinary circumstance that would justify an evidentiary hearing to determine whether such a promise was made. Instead, we are entitled to rely upon the text of the plea agreement and White’s Rule 11 plea colloquy, in which he disavowed the existence of such an agreement. Accordingly, White is not entitled to an evidentia-ry hearing.12
B.
Not only does my conclusion that White is not entitled to an evidentiary hearing comport with a proper interpretation of *310Blackledge, it is also consonant with the cases from this circuit and others applying the parol evidence rule to exclude extrinsic evidence of promises not included in unambiguous written plea agreements. See Hartman v. Blankenship, 825 F.2d 26, 29-31 (4th Cir.1987) (holding that because the record did not support Hartman’s contention that the written plea agreement was not intended to be the final, exclusive expression of his bargain with the Government, the parol evidence rule barred consideration of extrinsic evidence of an alleged contrary oral agreement); see also United States v. Nunez, 223 F.3d 956, 958 (9th Cir.2000) (“Under the parol evidence rule, a court looks to, and enforces, the plain language of a [plea agreement] and does not look to ‘extrinsic evidence ... to interpret ... the terms of an unambiguous written instrument.’ ”); United States v. Rockwell Int’l Corp., 124 F.3d 1194, 1200 (10th Cir.1997) (“Regardless of whether [the defendant’s] extrinsic evidence vindicates [his] assertion that the government agreed to be ... limited in [its actions in a plea agreement], the parol evidence rule forbids [the defendant] from asserting this additional term.”); United States v. Ballis, 28 F.3d 1399, 1410 (5th Cir.1994) (“[P]arol evidence is inadmissible to prove the meaning of an unambiguous plea agreement.”); United States v. Rutledge, 900 F.2d 1127, 1132 (7th Cir.1990) (“[A]n integration clause ... negates any effort by [a defendant] ... to undo the terms of the plea agreement by pointing to an alleged promise, made before the agreement was signed.”). The parol evidence rule prevents “a disaffected party, unhappy with what his bargain has bought for him, [from] supplanting] the order of a concluded agreement with the chaos of a post-factum reconfiguration of the bargain.” Hartman, 825 F.2d at 28.13 In this case, if the parol evidence rule applies, it would bar consideration of White’s sworn allegations. White’s plea agreement is unambiguous. It clearly states that it is the complete understanding among the parties, and it does not preserve White’s right to appeal the denial of his pretrial suppression motion. White’s assertion that the prosecutor orally agreed that White would be able to appeal the denial of his pre-trial suppression motion varies the terms of the written plea agreement, and, accordingly, it is inadmissible parol evidence.
I acknowledge that the parol evidence rule is not applied as strictly to plea agreements as it is to commercial contracts. See United States v. Garcia, 956 F.2d 41, 44 (4th Cir.1992) (enforcing a promise in the cover letter sent by the government along with a plea agreement when the government conceded that it had made the promise). This is because we will not allow the government to “take advantage of a rule of contract law to *311profit from an omission in a contract it prepared” when it concedes that it made a promise not contained in the -written plea agreement. Id. at 44. Thus, when contemporaneous documentary evidence demonstrates that the government in fact made a promise to the defendant, we will not apply the parol evidence rule to prevent enforcement of the promise. Id. White, however, has not presented contemporaneous documentary evidence. Instead, the only evidence that he has presented is the unsupported allegation in his sworn § 2255 petition. Although we should not allow the Government to profit from its own omission, if the parol evidence rule ever applies, it must apply when the only evidence of the alleged omission is a self-serving allegation in a sworn habeas petition. Garcia, 956 F.2d at 44; see Hartman, 825 F.2d at 28. Indeed, all of the evidence before us, other than White’s sworn § 2255 petition, shows that White believed he could appeal the denial of his suppression motion not because of a fraudulent promise by the prosecutor, but because his counsel misunderstood the applicable law. The record contains no evidence of governmental overreaching or misbehavior. When I couple these facts with the fact that during his Rule 11 plea colloquy White explicitly denied the existence of any promises not contained in his plea agreement, I conclude that if we cannot apply the parol evidence rule in this case, we cannot apply it in any case involving a written plea agreement. I believe that such a step will lead to countless unnecessary evidentiary hearings. See Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 71, 97 S.Ct. 1621.
III.
In sum, under the majority’s rationale, nearly every time that a convicted criminal defendant asserts that he was induced to plead guilty by an oral promise from the prosecutor, he will be entitled to an evi-dentiary hearing, even if his allegations conflict with the unambiguous terms of his written plea agreement and his sworn statements made during a Rule 11 plea colloquy. Given that “more often than not a prisoner has everything to gain and nothing to lose from filing a collateral attack upon his guilty plea,” this will result in an enormous waste of governmental resources.14 Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 71, 97 S.Ct. 1621. Because the sworn statements made by White during his Rule 11 plea colloquy and the unambiguous written plea agreement conclusively establish that White received no oral promise from the prosecutor that his plea was conditional, *312and because this case does not present the most extraordinary circumstances, an evi-dentiary hearing is unnecessary in this case. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.

. Given that I believe that the appropriate disposition of this case is granting White’s petition for collateral relief, I cannot understand my colleagues' view that I "intimat[e]” that "Rule ll’s procedural safeguards immunize a guilty plea from collateral attack.” Ante at 296. I also do not believe that Rule ll’s procedural safeguards always render an evidentiary hearing unnecessary. Indeed, I believe that the case cited by the majority, Fontaine v. United States, 411 U.S. 213, 93 S.Ct. 1461, 36 L.Ed.2d 169 (1973), a case in which the petitioner introduced documentary evidence supporting his claim that he was severely ill, both physically and mentally, and uncounseled at the time of his Rule 11 colloquy, is a paradigmatic example of a case involving the most extraordinary circumstances entitling a petitioner to an evidentiary hearing.

. I note that White does not claim that his intelligence or mental capabilities were impaired during the plea colloquy. In fact, during the plea colloquy, White testified that he was thirty-six years old, not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and that he had attended two years at Virginia State University. (J.A. at 349.) The district court also advised him that "If [he] d[id]n’t understand any of the questions or if at any time [he] want[ed] to talk with Mr. Heilberg, all [he] ha[d] to do [was] say so.” (J.A. at 350.) The court further instructed White that he was "under oath and if [he] answer[ed] any of the Court's questions falsely, then those false answers [could] later be used against [him] in another prosecution for perjury or for the making of a false statement.” (J.A. at 350-51.)
The majority claims that a lay person might have misunderstood the district court’s question whether White understood that "in some circumstances, either [he] or the Government may have the right to appeal any sentence which [the court] may impose.” Ante at 299; (J.A. at 357 (emphasis added).) White, however, was not simply a lay person; White was *304a career criminal offender who undoubtedly understood the difference between a sentence imposed by the court and a pretrial motion that would result in the suppression of evidence. In fact, I believe that White's silence in the face of the district court’s question, which expressly limited the right to appeal to "any sentence,” makes his assertion of an oral promise all the more implausible. Cf. United States v. Floyd, 108 F.3d 202, 204 (9th Cir.1997) (holding that a guilty plea was knowing and voluntary when a district court asked the identical question during a plea colloquy but failed to inform the defendant that he was waiving the right to appeal the denial of non-jurisdictional pretrial motions).

. The plea agreement was signed by Assistant United States Attorney, Ray Fitzgerald. The Government was represented by another Assistant United States Attorney, Joel Vengrin, at the Rule 11 hearing. For convenience's sake, we will refer to all attorneys representing the Government in this case as "the prosecutor.”

. Although it is not completely clear, Heilberg was likely referring to United States v. Wilson, 953 F.2d 116 (4th Cir.1991), a case in which a defendant had preserved his right to appeal the denial of his pretrial suppression motion as part of his guilty plea. If this is in fact the case that Heilberg was referencing, his concession of incompetence is unremarkable, given that Wilson specifically noted that the defendant had reserved his right to appeal. Id. at 120.

.The Government did not concede that, as part of the plea agreement, Heilberg told White that he would be able to appeal the denial of his pre-trial suppression motion. Indeed, no evidence in the record would support a finding that Heilberg told White that the plea agreement contained a term allowing him to plead conditionally. In fact, the evidence shows the exact opposite. White himself avers that he relied on the "prosecutor’s fraudulent oral agreement that the plea was conditional” and that "the written agreement [did not] ... alert [him ] that his plea was unconditional.” (J.A. at 44 (emphases added).) Moreover, as noted above, Heilberg never has claimed that he advised White that the written plea agreement was conditional. Instead, the evidence shows that Heilberg incompetently believed that the plea agreement did not need to be conditional to avoid waiving White's right to appeal. (J.A. at 63.)
The majority believes that Heilberg's statement that he "failed to comply with the technical requirements of Rule 11(a)(2),” (J.A. at 59), supports an inference that Heilberg failed "to incorporate the Government’s oral promise into the final written plea agreement.” Ante at 300-301. I respectfully disagree. No reasonable fact finder could infer from that statement that Heilberg was claiming to have had an oral agreement with the prosecutor, especially given the content of the rest of Heilberg's letter, which clearly blames White’s predicament on Heilberg’s own errors. Had Heilberg actually made an oral agreement with the prosecutor, he would not have alluded to it in such a tangential way.

. Under the plea agreement White received a sentence of 262 months of imprisonment based on his acceptance of responsibility. If convicted at trial, the guideline sentencing range would have been 360 months to life imprisonment based on his status as a career offender. See United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1 (1997); (J.A. at 24, 93). In addition, the district court had ordered — erroneously, the Government contends — that his sentence run concurrently with a state law conviction instead of consecutively to it. After the vacatur of White's guilty plea, White lost the benefit of this favorable sentencing.

. Contrary to the majority’s contention, see ante at 294 n. 2, this factual description of the relief that White seeks is not intended to "intimate” that this would be a legally impermissible remedy in an appropriate case.

. The majority labels this standard a "formidable barrier” that habeas petitioners must overcome. Ante at 301 n. 9. Given the majority’s decision to require an evidentiary hearing in this case, where White merely has made assertions that are directly contradicted by the text of the plea agreement and his testimony at the plea colloquy, I hardly think that "formidable” is the appropriate adjective.

. By ignoring this aspect of the Blackledge opinion, the majority creates a rule of law that is in direct contravention of the efficiency objective underlying Rule 11 and the holding in Blackledge. One of the major purposes of Rule 11 is "to permit quick disposition of baseless collateral attacks.” Blackledge v. Allison, 431 U.S. 63, 79 n. 19, 97 S.Ct. 1621, 52 L.Ed.2d 136 (1977). If district courts are forced to hold an evidentiary hearing every time a habeas petitioner makes an assertion that is not patently frivolous that the prosecutor made an oral promise not contained in the plea agreement, this aim of Rule 11 is frustrated. Notwithstanding my colleagues' assertion to the contrary, see ante at 299 n. 6, the practical effect of this rule will be to require district courts to expand the Rule 11 colloquy to avoid wasteful collateral litigation. For example, following this case, a district court will feel compelled to inform defendants that they are waiving their right to appeal the denial of pretrial motions. Perhaps in the next case, a habeas petitioner will assert that the prosecutor promised him that he would receive a certain amount of visitation time with his family while incarcerated or that he would be confined in a certain prison. Need district courts specifically inform defendants that they are not entitled to such privileges unless they are included in their written plea agreements? Under the majority’s opinion, I believe that they must, because a negative response to the question “did anyone 'ma [k]e any other promise or assurance to you of any kind in any effort to induce you to plead guilty’ ” will no longer suffice to insulate a guilty plea from these sorts of collateral attack.

. Although the "most extraordinary circumstances” standard derives from the language of Blackledge, I note that this standard accurately describes the practice of the various Courts of Appeals even before Blackledge. See, e.g., Bryan v. United States, 492 F.2d 775, 781 (5th Cir.1974) (en banc) (holding that an evidentiary hearing is not required when a petitioner's uncorroborated allegations of an unkept plea bargain are directly contradicted *308by his testimony at the time of sentencing); United States v. Rapp, 539 F.2d 1156, 1158 (8th Cir.1976) (stating that, "[standing alone, the fact that [the petitioner] now contradicts the statement he made at the Rule 11 hearing and the fact that the allegations he makes in his § 2255 motion go beyond the subjects covered in a Rule 11 hearing would not be sufficient basis for requiring a[n evidentiary] hearing,” but holding that an evidentiary hearing is required when the Government concedes that a written plea agreement is incomplete); Crawford v. United States, 519 F.2d 347, 350 (4th Cir.1975) (holding that "the district court was not required to conduct an evidentiary exploration of the truth of an allegation in a § 2255 motion which amounted to no more than a bare contradiction of statements made by [the petitioner] when he pleaded guilty”); Hedman v. United States, 527 F.2d 20, 22 (10th Cir.1975) (holding that a district court "was not required to conduct an evidentiary hearing when appellant's allegations merely contradicted his earlier statements [made during a Rule 11 plea colloquy],” but noting that an "uncounselled plea [coupled with] allegations of fear, coercive police tactics and mental illness” would require an evidentiary hearing).

. The majority relies on the decisions of several of our sister circuits to support its use of the "palpably incredible” standard in this case. See ante at 296 n. 4 (citing Tran v. Lockhart, 849 F.2d 1064 (8th Cir.1988); Marrow v. United States, 772 F.2d 525 (9th Cir.1985); United States v. Unger, 665 F.2d 251 (8th Cir.1981); McKenzie v. Wainwright, 632 F.2d 649 (5th Cir.1980)).
I believe that, to the extent that they are not distinguishable, the cases relied on by the majority reflect an ill-considered reading of Blackledge, and for the reasons discussed in the text, I would follow the approach of Lasiter v. Thomas, 89 F.3d 699, 702-03 (10th Cir.1996), and Pennington v. Housewright, 666 F.2d 329, 331-33 (8th Cir.1981).

. Even if I were to accept the majority’s position that a prisoner is entitled to an evi-dentiary hearing unless his allegations are " 'palpably incredible’ or 'patently frivolous or false/ ” I would conclude that White's allegations fail to meet even this lenient test. As mentioned above, all of the evidence in this case, other than White's self-serving assertions, demonstrates that Heilberg misunderstood the applicable law and accordingly promised White that he could appeal the denial of his pretrial suppression motion regardless of the terms of the plea agreement. White then disclaimed the existence of any oral agreements with the prosecutor in writing, by signing his plea agreement, and again orally during his Rule 11 plea colloquy. Furthermore, neither Heilberg nor Vengrin mentioned any such oral agreement, despite the fact that they were involved in the Rule 11 colloquy. In the face of this evidence, White's allegations of having had an oral agreement with the prosecutor are ''palpably incredible.”

. My colleagues attempt to cast doubt upon the continuing validity of the parol evidence rule in cases where a defendant challenges the terms of an unambiguous written plea agreement. Ante at 295 n. 3. By doing so, I fear that the majority significantly undermines the sanctity of the written plea agreement and leaves us open to the “chaos of post-factum reconfiguration[s].’’ Hartman, 825 F.2d at 28. Additionally, I fear that the majority has led us astray from the majority of our sister circuits. Contrary to the majority’s assertion, Hartman 's holding was that the parol evidence rule bars consideration of alleged oral agreements that vary the terms of an unambiguous written plea agreement if the written document is intended to be the final, exclusive expression of the parties' bargain. Id. at 29, 31. Importantly, the district court in Hartman did not hold an evidentiary hearing, and we remanded with instructions that the court dismiss Hartman’s petition, not that it hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Hartman's allegations were true. Id. at 31.

. Not only will district courts be forced to hold evidentiary hearings, prosecutors will be forced to seek out and prepare witnesses and evidence in order to rebut the petitioner’s allegations — often well after the substance of the allegations will have been alleged to have occurred. This is exactly what Rule 11 and the parol evidence rule are designed to prevent. Cf. Blackledge, 431 U.S. at 80 n. 19, 97 S.Ct. 1621 ("A principal purpose of the ... statutory reforms [like Rule 11] [i]s to permit quick disposition of baseless collateral attacks.”); Hartman v. Blankenship, 825 F.2d 26, 28 (4th Cir.1987)("[O]therwise, a disaffected party, unhappy with what his bargain has bought for him, could easily supplant the order of a concluded agreement with the chaos of a post-factum reconfiguration of the bargain.”).
The majority opinion repeatedly emphasizes that the Government has not offered an affidavit or other sworn evidence denying the existence of an oral agreement. See ante at 294, 297, 300, 302. Of course, as noted above, the whole reason for having Rule 11 colloquies and for applying the parol evidence rule is precisely so that the Government will not have to offer evidence or affidavits in cases such as this one, where the only evidence of an alleged oral agreement is the sworn statement of the petitioner himself, a statement contradicting the testimony that he gave during his plea colloquy.