Elsie Jean Williams v. United States

Appellant sought relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in the district court, where her petition was denied without a hearing. She had been convicted on her own plea of guilty of violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1708, which is concerned with mail theft and the possession of stolen mail. Of the original thirty-six counts in the indictment, the Government withdrew eighteen which pertained to the alleged violation of another statute. Of the eighteen remaining counts, defendant pled guilty to ten, each of which potentially carried a maximum penalty of a $2,000 fine or five years in prison, or both. Presumably…