Williams v. United States

426 F. Supp. 1182, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17259
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedFebruary 22, 1977
DocketCiv. A. No. 76-2158
StatusPublished

This text of 426 F. Supp. 1182 (Williams v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. United States, 426 F. Supp. 1182, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17259 (D.N.J. 1977).

Opinion

OPINION

STERN, District Judge.

Petitioner Arthur Williams seeks relief from his conviction and sentence for bank robbery. Petitioner was indicted for bank robbery on February 28, 1975. The indictment arose out of the robbery of the First State Bank of Hudson County in Jersey City on November 30,1974. The first count of the indictment charged that petitioner knowingly and wilfully took, by force, violence and intimidation, some five thousand dollars from the custody of the bank, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). The second count of the indictment charged that petitioner, during the commission of the offense described in Count One, knowingly and wilfully placed the lives of the employees in jeopardy through the use of a hand gun, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d). Although the indictment was assigned to this Court for trial on February 28,1975, the case was placed on the inactive list on March 27, 1975 because petitioner was a fugitive. In late October petitioner was arrested on other charges by the South Carolina State Police. An Order of Removal was filed on October 29. The petitioner was subsequently returned to this District to stand trial on the bank robbery indictment. He was arraigned on November 13, 1975. Counsel was appointed to represent him and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf on November 24. A peremptory trial date of January 5, 1976 was set at that time.

In mid-December petitioner notified the Court by counsel that he wished to retract his previously entered plea of not guilty to Count One of the indictment, pursuant to a plea agreement reached with the United States. Under the terms of the agreement the United States agreed to move the dismissal of Count Two and to make no sentencing recommendation to the Court. This charging concession by the United States reduced petitioners maximum potential sentence exposure from 25 years and a $10,-000 fine to 20 years and a $5,000 fine. After making inquiry into the voluntary and knowing nature of the proposed waiver of rights, this Court inquired into the factual basis for the proffered plea of guilty:

Q. [THE COURT] All right. Now, Count 1 of this indictment charges that on or about November 30, 1974, at Jersey City, you knowingly and wilfully and by force and violence did take from the person and presence of employees of the First State Bank of Hudson County at 32 Journal Square, Jersey City, New Jersey, approximately $5,750 belonging to and in the care and custody of that bank, the bank being insured by the Federal Government. Did you do that?
A. [THE DEFENDANT] Yes, sir.
Q. What did you do?
A. Because I was, you know, using drugs at the time.
Q. I said “What did you do?”
A. What do you mean what did I do?
Q. Did you go in to the bank that day?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you do in the bank?
A. I went in there and got the money.
Q. How did you get the money?
A. With a note.
Q. In other words, you stole some money?
A. Yes, sir.
THE COURT: All right. The government is satisfied that there is a sufficient factual basis for the entry of this plea?
MR. MATTHEWS: [ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY] Your Honor, it should be established, I believe, that there was force or intimidation used.
BY THE COURT:
Q. What did you put on the note?
A. I don’t remember.
THE COURT: Do you have the note here?
MR. MATTHEWS: Your Honor, I have a copy of the note here.
[1184]*1184(Note handed to the Court.)
MR. MATTHEWS: Your Honor, that is a photograph of the note used in the matter.
Q. Take a look at this note, Mr. Williams. Is this the note, a copy, a photocopy of the note that you gave to the teller?
MR. MARUCCI: [DEFENSE COUNSEL] Judge, I’ve shown Mr. Williams our copy.
THE COURT: Just please do what I ask.
(Note handed to the defendant)
Q. Is that right?
A. That’s right.
THE COURT: All right. That will be marked as a Court’s exhibit, if I may.
MR. MATTHEWS: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: For purposes of the plea.
(Note was marked Exhibit C-l.)
Q. Is that note written in your handwriting?
A. Yes, sir.
THE COURT: I am satisfied that there is a sufficient factual basis for the entry of the plea.

Tr. 12/12/75, at 8-10.1 At the close of the Rule 11 proceeding the plea of guilty was accepted, and sentencing was set down for January 26, 1976.

On that day petitioner’s case was moved for sentence. Petitioner did not initially indicate any dispute with the presentence report, which noted that petitioner had admitted his guilt. Petitioner, in fact, sought to rely upon the statements in the report concerning his military record and previous narcotics addiction. (Tr. 1/26/76, at 2) This Court, however, raised sua sponte the allegations contained in the report to the effect that petitioner shot at a policeman while fleeing from the bank:

THE COURT: If you want an evidentiary hearing on it, I will grant it to you. Because, Mr. Marucci, that is a fact of importance. I would be dissembling and lying to you if I told you that I could disregard the allegation that this defendant in the course of a bank robbery with a pistol, while escaping, engaged in an exchange of shots with a police officer.

Id., at 3. After the Court itself flagged the issue, petitioner requested that the information either be disregarded or that an evidentiary hearing be provided. The Court then ordered that an evidentiary hearing be granted to the petitioner. After several adjournments of the hearing and sentence, some requested by petitioner to permit him to explore cooperation with the government in another district, the evidentiary hearing was held.

Oral argument was heard on a variety of motions, and this Court determined that the standard of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” should govern the hearing, and that the trier of fact should be the Court itself. The United States then presented the testimony of two witnesses who were present at the scene of the crime, a Jersey City fireman and an East Orange police officer. Both eyewitnesses identified the petitioner as the man they saw fleeing the bank. Both testified unequivocally that he fired several shots at them.

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Bluebook (online)
426 F. Supp. 1182, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-united-states-njd-1977.