UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Filed 5/9/96
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 95-1470
v. D. Colorado
DONALD EDWARD SELF, (D.C. No. 94-K-2272)
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
Before ANDERSON, BARRETT, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this
appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34 (a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. This cause is therefore ordered
submitted without oral argument.
Donald Edward Self appeals the district court’s denial of his in forma pauperis pro
se motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. He
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the
citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under
the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
contends that the district court abused its discretion in denying him an evidentiary hearing
on his § 2255 motion. We affirm.
We review the district court’s denial of a request for a § 2255 hearing for abuse of
discretion. Moore v. United States, 950 F.2d 656, 659 (10th Cir. 1991); see also Dever v.
Kansas State Penitentiary, 36 F.3d 1531, 1535 (10th Cir. 1994) (distinguishing between
mandatory and discretionary hearings).
In his motion below, Self challenged his federal sentence enhancement for two
prior state court convictions, alleging that those prior convictions were constitutionally
defective. In support, Self filed an affidavit stating that he entered guilty pleas on the
state charges in exchange for the promise of concurrent sentences, and the promise was
breached when the court subsequently imposed consecutive sentences. R. Vol. I, Tab 8 at
3-4. This, he argues, invalidated his guilty pleas and rendered his convictions invalid.
Id., Tab 9.
The district court construed Self’s motion as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus,
concluding that Self’s current sentence enhancement satisfied the “‘in custody’
requirement for habeas review.” R. Vol. I, Tab 5 at 3-4 n.4. After fully reviewing the
state court record related to Self’s prior guilty plea, the district court made the following
findings:
The state court record shows plainly that Self was advised of the
rights he was waiving and that he understood those rights. . . . When asked
whether he was promised anything in exchange for his plea, Self responded
only that other charges against him would be dismissed. . . . At the [same
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hearing], the prosecutor informed the court that the state would “probably
ask for consecutive time” at sentencing. . . . Self’s attorney, . . . conceded
there was no “agreement” between his client and the state regarding
sentencing, and the judge made it clear to Self before Self entered his plea
that sentencing was a matter solely for the judge to decide regardless of any
requests made by the prosecution.
R. Vol. I, Tab 10 at 3-4 (citations to state court record omitted). Concluding that Self’s
conclusory and self-serving affidavit was insufficient to overcome the clear record made
at the time Self entered his plea, the district court denied Self’s § 2255 motion and denied
Self’s request for an evidentiary hearing. Id.
The truth and accuracy of Self’s prior state court statements are conclusive in the
absence of a believable reason justifying their rejection. United States v. Bambulas, 571
F.2d 525 (1978). Notably, Self offered no reason to justify his failure to specify the
alleged agreement on concurrent sentences when the state court inquired whether he was
promised anything in exchange for his plea. Accordingly, since the motion, files, and
records conclusively show that Self was entitled to no relief, the district court did not
abuse its discretion in denying an evidentiary hearing. 28 U.S.C. § 2255; Hedman v.
United States, 527 F.2d 20, 22 (1975).
AFFIRMED. The mandate shall issue forthwith.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Stephen H. Anderson
Circuit Judge
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