Richard Gonzalez James v. United States

AINSWORTH, Circuit Judge:

Appellant Richard Gonzalez James has appealed the denial of his motion (filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255) to vacate an alleged illegal sentence.

On July 6, 1962, appellant, then 18 years old, appeared in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on a Dyer Act violation (18 U.S.C. § 2312) and waived counsel and indictment. Appellant and a companion, both enlisted men in the Army, had stolen the vehicle while on a week-end pass, in order to visit appellant’s wife and child. Appellant was advised by the district judge, in open court at arraignment, that the…