Ronnie Lee Launius, Carroll Evan Sherrill, Paul Junior Ballard v. United States

In 1974 appellants Launius, Sherrill and Ballard pleaded guilty to two counts of an information charging a single offense. They received consecutive sentences on the two counts exceeding the statutory maximum for the single offense charged in the information. 1 Two years later appellants filed motions under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 challenging their sentences. The district court agreed that the information was multipli-cious and that the consecutive sentences violated the double jeopardy clause. Relief was denied, however, on the ground that appellants had waived their double jeopardy claims by…