Welch v. United States

ORDER

Andre Welch was found guilty by a jury of bank robbery, see 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), and sentenced to 160 months in prison. After his conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal, Welch filed a motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. He claimed that the federal public defender who represented him at trial was ineffective because he either mishandled a plea offer from the government or else failed even to pursue plea negotiations with prosecutors. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court denied Welch’s motion. The court found that the government had never proposed, and…