United States v. Conley

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:

James Earl Conley contends that both his trial and appellate counsel were ineffective in failing to object and argue that his sentence was greater than the maximum set for the crime for which he was convicted. We conclude that Conley was in fact sentenced to a longer prison term than that authorized under the criminal statute he violated, and that the perfóral- anee of Ms counsel was constitutionally ineffective. We therefore reverse the district court’s denial of relief, vacate Conley’s sentence and remand for re-sentencing.

I

Conley was charged with conspiracy,…