Berl Estes McDonald v. United States

BREITENSTEIN, Circuit Judge.

The trial court denied without hearing appellant’s motion for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 from a 10-year sentence imposed on his plea of guilty to a charge of assault with intent to murder. At the time of the commission of the crime appellant- was an inmate of the United States penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. One of the grounds asserted for relief is mental incompetence at the time of a guilty plea. When such a claim is raised the § 2255 motion may not be disposed of without a hearing. See Nipp v. United States, 10 Cir., 324 F.2d 711, and Ellison v. United…