Writ of Habeas corpus

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Kenneth Morris v. Bryan Bartow

Case No.: 14-3482

Officials: FLAUM, WILLIAMS, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges

Focus: Writ of Habeas corpus

Evidence does not support the notion the appellant guilty plea was involuntary

“Even with his new attorney, Morris never moved to set aside the guilty plea and never called it into question. Not until after the trial judge imposed a relatively severe sentence and the no‐merit appeal had concluded did Morris begin claiming that his guilty plea had been coerced. Then we also have the findings of the state courts regarding Morris’s dealings with his appellate attorney Lang. Those findings bind us as long as they are reasonable, and they are. They tell us that Morris never communicated to his appellate lawyer Lang that he thought he had been pressured unfairly into pleading guilty. In light of all these circumstances, we conclude that Morris has not shown that acceptance of his guilty plea violated his federal constitutional rights. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a).”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.