State v. Rich

“I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that ‘it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams. ’ ”

—Abraham Lincoln, Remarks in Response to Lincoln’s Nomination by the National Union League (June 9,1864)

In June 2009, the respondent, Otis Rich, filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis challenging the voluntariness of his 2001 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute marijuana. In response to the petition, the State asserted that Mr. Rich’s claims were without merit and should be denied without a hearing. The coram nobis…