Engle v. United States

513 F. Supp. 896, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12113
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 30, 1981
DocketNo. C-3-80-8
StatusPublished

This text of 513 F. Supp. 896 (Engle v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Engle v. United States, 513 F. Supp. 896, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12113 (S.D. Ohio 1981).

Opinion

DECISION AND ENTRY SETTING FORTH FURTHER PROCEDURES ON MOTION TO VACATE SENTENCE, PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 2255

RICE, District Judge.

On March 29, 1979, Albert Engle was found guilty on two counts of violating the Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1952, and two counts of conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. He was sentenced by Chief Judge Rubin to two years and two days, and was previously in custody at the Eglin Federal Prison Camp, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Engle is currently on parole.

On June 4, 1979, Engle filed a Notice of Appeal from his conviction. On November 7, 1979, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted Engle’s motion to dismiss the appeal, said motion having been filed on October 18, 1979.

This matter is presently before the Court on Engle’s motion to vacate sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, filed on January 7, 1980. This motion raises three grounds for relief, with multiple contentions under each. These grounds are: (1) that the conviction was obtained by the unconstitutional activities of the employees, agents, and officers of the United States; (2) ineffective assistance of counsel; and (3) newly discovered evidence. In response to said motion, the Government has submitted a Motion to Dismiss and Memorandum in Opposition to Motion to Vacate Pursuant to Rule 2255, filed March 22, 1980.

Rule 4(b), Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings provides in pertinent part:

(b) Initial consideration by judge. The motion, together with all the files, records, transcripts, and correspondence relating to the judgment under attack, shall be examined promptly by the judge to whom it is assigned. If it plainly appears from the face of the motion and any annexed exhibits and the prior proceedings in the case that the movant is not entitled to relief in the district court, the judge shall make an order for its summary dismissal and cause the movant to be notified.

This Court has considered the pertinent materials, and has determined that it does not plainly appear that the movant is not entitled to relief. However, having made this determination, the Court is not currently prepared to set this matter down for an evidentiary hearing. Rather, for the reasons set forth below, the Court will postpone making a determination regarding movant’s entitlement to an evidentiary hearing, until such time as this Court has had an opportunity to examine the movant’s answers to the written interrogatories [898]*898propounded to him by the Court for the purposes of expanding the record, pursuant to Rule 7, Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings. A copy of the Court’s written interrogatories is appended hereto.

DISCUSSION

Movant submitted a standard form for § 2255 motions. Thereon, he indicated that he appealed from the judgment of conviction but that the appeal was “dismissed on Defendant’s motion,” on November 7, 1979. Movant does not specify his reasons for seeking dismissal of his appeal. This raises the question whether the movant deliberately bypassed federal remedial procedures previously available to him, which justifies denial of relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

The deliberate bypass doctrine in the context of Section 2255 proceedings was first articulated in Kaufman v. United States, 394 U.S. 217, 227 n.8, 89 S.Ct. 1068, 1074 n.8, 22 L.Ed.2d 227 (1969), wherein the Court stated, “the § 2255 court may in a proper case deny relief to a federal prisoner who has deliberately bypassed the orderly federal procedures provided at or before trial and by way of appeal.” The doctrine was first applied in habeas corpus proceedings in Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 83 S.Ct. 822, 9 L.Ed.2d 837 (1963), where the district court denied the applicant’s petition for habeas corpus relief on the ground that the applicant had failed to exhaust the remedies available in state court. The applicant had not pursued an appeal as had his co-defendants. Although the co-defendants were unsuccessful in their appeals, they were subsequently released on a finding that their confessions had been coerced. The coercive nature of the applicant’s confession was also established but the district court, nonetheless, denied relief.

The Court of Appeals reversed the district court and the Supreme Court affirmed this judgment because, inter alia, under the circumstances presented, Noia’s failure to appeal could not be deemed an intelligent waiver of his right to appeal. Id. at 399, 83 S.Ct. at 827. However, the Court also established that “the federal habeas judge may in his discretion deny relief to an applicant who has deliberately by-passed the orderly procedure of the state courts and in so doing has forfeited his state court remedies.” Id. at 438, 83 S.Ct. at 848 (emphasis added).

To determine whether the bypass is deliberate, the Court used the definition of waiver set forth in Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 465, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 1023, 82 L.Ed. 1461 (1938): “an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege.” 372 U.S. at 439, 83 S.Ct. at 849. The Noia Court then stated:

If a habeas applicant, after consultation with competent counsel or otherwise, understanding^ and knowingly forewent the privilege of seeking to vindicate his federal claims in the state courts, where for strategic, tactical, or any other reasons that can fairly be described as the deliberate by-passing of state procedures, then it is open to the federal court on habeas to deny him all relief if the state courts refuse to entertain his federal claims on the merits — though of course only after the federal court has satisfied itself, by holding a hearing or by some other means, of the facts bearing upon the applicant’s default.

Id. (emphasis added).

The deliberate bypass doctrine has been applied in several section 2255 proceedings. In Cassidy v. United States, 428 F.2d 585 (8th Cir. 1970), the Court affirmed the denial of the movant’s motion to vacate sentence. The movant had been convicted for failing to report for, or submit to induction into the Armed Forces. Movant, who had retained counsel, filed a notice of appeal, and was not imprisoned while the appeal was pending. Thereafter, he dropped his appeal and voluntarily surrendered to federal authorities. He later filed a motion to vacate sentence. The Court stated that section 2255 “does not exist to correct erroneous factual determinations or to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, or to correct errors which should have been brought to the attention of the trial court or the appellate court on direct appeal.” Id. at 587 [899]*899(citations omitted).

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Related

Johnson v. Zerbst
304 U.S. 458 (Supreme Court, 1938)
Fay v. Noia
372 U.S. 391 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Kaufman v. United States
394 U.S. 217 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Brett Cassidy v. United States
428 F.2d 585 (Eighth Circuit, 1970)
Thomas William Taylor v. United States
462 F.2d 1348 (Ninth Circuit, 1972)
Hershel Hiram McKnight v. United States
507 F.2d 1034 (Fifth Circuit, 1975)
Ettore Coco, A/K/A Eddie Coco v. United States
569 F.2d 367 (Fifth Circuit, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
513 F. Supp. 896, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/engle-v-united-states-ohsd-1981.