United States v. Earnest Dean Sanders

PICKETT, Circuit Judge.

This is a direct appeal from a sentence entered after a plea of guilty by appellant Sanders to a 2-count indictment charging him and others with conspiring to violate 21 U.S.C. § 174, and 26 U.S.C. §§ 4705(a) and 7237(b), relating to the possession, distribution and sale of narcotic drugs. The sole contention presented is whether the plea of guilty is void because the sentencing court did not comply with the provisions of Rule 11, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, prior to accepting the guilty plea.

When Sanders appeared before the court for arraignment on March 12,…