Richard Devold v. Frank Blackburn, Warden

Fifth Circuit

Richard Devold v. Frank Blackburn, Warden

574 F.2d 1361, 1978 U.S. App. LEXIS 10649

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

DecidedJune 16, 1978

Docket77-3150

StatusPublished

This text of 574 F.2d 1361 (Richard Devold v. Frank Blackburn, Warden) 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

Richard Devold v. Frank Blackburn, Warden, 574 F.2d 1361, 1978 U.S. App. LEXIS 10649 (5th Cir. 1978).

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Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Richard Devoid entered a plea of guilty to a charge of second degree murder in Louisiana state court and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He then sought a writ of habeas corpus in the state courts and, after exhausting his state remedies, filed for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, claiming that the guilty plea was not voluntarily and intelligently entered and that his court-appointed counsel rendered ineffective assistance. The District Court denied relief and this appeal followed. We affirm.

Devoid asserts that his guilty plea was based on his attorney’s advice that he would receive a maximum sentence of twenty years and that he could not afford to pay for a jury trial. The transcript of the plea hearing shows that before accepting the guilty plea, the trial judge asked Devoid whether he knew that he would receive a life sentence if he pleaded guilty, advised him of the rights that he was waiving by his guilty plea, and elicited statements to assure the Judge that Devoid understood the basis for his plea. The record thus shows that the hearing fully met the requirements of Boykin v. Alabama, 1968, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274; see also Davis v. Wainwright, 5 Cir., 1977, 547 F.2d 261, 264-65.

Devoid attempts to bolster his claim by asserting that his counsel’s advice and failure to investigate his case denied him effective legal assistance. The District Court found otherwise, and we affirm. Counsel met his duty of ascertaining “if the plea is entered voluntarily and knowingly,” Herring v. Estelle, 5 Cir., 1974, 491 F.2d 125, 128.

AFFIRMED.

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PER CURIAM:

Richard Devoid entered a plea of guilty to a charge of second degree murder in Louisiana state court and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He then sought a writ of habeas corpus in the state courts and, after exhausting his state remedies, filed for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, claiming that the guilty plea was not voluntarily and intelligently entered and that his court-appointed counsel rendered ineffective assistance. The District Court denied relief and this appeal followed. We affirm.

Devoid asserts that his guilty plea was based on his attorney’s advice that he would receive a maximum sentence of twenty years and that he could not afford to pay for a jury trial. The transcript of the plea hearing shows that before accepting the guilty plea, the trial judge asked Devoid whether he knew that he would receive a life sentence if he pleaded guilty, advised him of the rights that he was waiving by his guilty plea, and elicited statements to assure the Judge that Devoid understood the basis for his plea. The record thus shows that the hearing fully met the requirements of Boykin v. Alabama, 1968, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274; see also Davis v. Wainwright, 5 Cir., 1977, 547 F.2d 261, 264-65.

Devoid attempts to bolster his claim by asserting that his counsel’s advice and failure to investigate his case denied him effective legal assistance. The District Court found otherwise, and we affirm. Counsel met his duty of ascertaining “if the plea is entered voluntarily and knowingly,” Herring v. Estelle, 5 Cir., 1974, 491 F.2d 125, 128.

AFFIRMED.

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Bluebook (online)

574 F.2d 1361, 1978 U.S. App. LEXIS 10649, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richard-devold-v-frank-blackburn-warden-ca5-1978.

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