Jesse Hines v. David Miller, Superintendent

I respectfully dissent.

At his sentencing hearing, appellant filed a motion to withdraw the plea of guilty he had entered eleven days earlier. The motion was a typical pro se filing, asserting in conclusory terms that he had been coerced by his counsel to enter the plea and was innocent. His counsel declined to aid in the presentation of that motion because of a perceived conflict of interest resulting from the coercion allegation. Counsel requested that new counsel be appointed to present the motion “on proper papers” and proffer “additional information that the defendant may wish to impart…