Cornell Smith v. United States

Fifth Circuit

Cornell Smith v. United States

447 F.2d 487, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 8257

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

DecidedSeptember 1, 1971

Docket71-2164

StatusPublished

Cited by1 cases

This text of 447 F.2d 487 (Cornell Smith v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Cornell Smith v. United States, 447 F.2d 487, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 8257 (5th Cir. 1971).

Pincite

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

This appeal is from the district court’s denial of the appellant’s motion to vacate his judgment and sentence, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255. We affirm.

On November 24, 1970 the appellant entered a plea of guilty to the offense of conspiracy to smuggle heroin into the United States, 21 U.S.C.A. § 174, and thereupon a sentence of five years was imposed. He now seeks to have that conviction set aside on the bases that the indictment did not allege facts sufficient to inform him of any overt act with which he was charged, and that he was entrapped by government officials to commit the offense.

The indictment charges that between January 19 and February 20, 1970 Smith and others bought quantities of heroin from Sammy Moya Chavez. In addition, in response to Smith’s motions for particularization and for discovery the Government amplified the overt acts alleged in the indictment by directly naming Smith as a participant in a conversation furthering the conspiracy which was held at a precisely designated location in the City of Fort Worth, Texas. Clearly, the indictment was not insufficient.

*488 As the district court correctly held, a valid plea of guilty constitutes a waiver of all non-jurisdictional defects and defenses. This includes the defense of entrapment. Hayes v. Smith, 447 F. 2d 488 (5th Cir. 1971); Mejia v. United States, 430 F.2d 1273 (5th Cir. 1970); Frye v. United States, 411 F.2d 562 (5th Cir. 1969); Henderson v. United States, 395 F.2d 209 (5th Cir. 1968). Since the appellant has failed to allege that his plea of guilty was invalid, the district court’s preemptory denial of § 2255 relief was not erroneous.

Accordingly, the judgment appealed from is

Affirmed.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

PER CURIAM:

This appeal is from the district court’s denial of the appellant’s motion to vacate his judgment and sentence, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255. We affirm.

On November 24, 1970 the appellant entered a plea of guilty to the offense of conspiracy to smuggle heroin into the United States, 21 U.S.C.A. § 174, and thereupon a sentence of five years was imposed. He now seeks to have that conviction set aside on the bases that the indictment did not allege facts sufficient to inform him of any overt act with which he was charged, and that he was entrapped by government officials to commit the offense.

The indictment charges that between January 19 and February 20, 1970 Smith and others bought quantities of heroin from Sammy Moya Chavez. In addition, in response to Smith’s motions for particularization and for discovery the Government amplified the overt acts alleged in the indictment by directly naming Smith as a participant in a conversation furthering the conspiracy which was held at a precisely designated location in the City of Fort Worth, Texas. Clearly, the indictment was not insufficient.

*488 As the district court correctly held, a valid plea of guilty constitutes a waiver of all non-jurisdictional defects and defenses. This includes the defense of entrapment. Hayes v. Smith, 447 F. 2d 488 (5th Cir. 1971); Mejia v. United States, 430 F.2d 1273 (5th Cir. 1970); Frye v. United States, 411 F.2d 562 (5th Cir. 1969); Henderson v. United States, 395 F.2d 209 (5th Cir. 1968). Since the appellant has failed to allege that his plea of guilty was invalid, the district court’s preemptory denial of § 2255 relief was not erroneous.

Accordingly, the judgment appealed from is

Affirmed.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

447 F.2d 487, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 8257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cornell-smith-v-united-states-ca5-1971.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack