Plea Agreement – Competency

By: Derek Hawkins//August 8, 2017//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Denny Ray Anderson v. United States of America

Case No.: 15-2683

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and ROVNER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Plea Agreement – Competency

Anderson’s plea agreement prevented him from directly appealing his conviction and sentence, but he was nonetheless entitled to file a motion for collateral relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. He did so, supporting his motion with two arguments: first, that he was not competent at the time of his guilty plea because of his illnesses and the effects of the medications he was taking; and second, that his attorney provided constitutionally defective assistance for failing to challenge his competence. The district court rejected his petition outright. On appeal, he requests an evidentiary hearing to develop facts related to these interrelated claims. We agree that a hearing is appropriate.

Remanded

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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.

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