Witthar v. United States, No. 14-1612 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseWitthar pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights, obstruction of justice, and interference with fair housing rights, 18 U.S.C. 241, 1512(b)(1); 42 U.S.C. 3631 waiving her right to appeal or collaterally attack a finding of guilt and her sentence on any ground except: ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, a sentence imposed in excess of the statutory maximum, or an illegal sentence. The prosecution advocated for a sentence at the bottom of her advisory guidelines range, dismissed four other counts, and agreed to not bring additional charges related to her crimes. The district court sentenced Witthar to 63 months’ imprisonment, at the bottom of her advisory guidelines range. No appeal followed. Eleven months later, Witthar filed a pro se petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255, alleging that her attorney failed to file a requested notice of appeal. The government submitted an affidavit from Witthar’s attorney stating that Witthar had not asked him to file an appeal. The district court denied Witthar’s claim without conducting an evidentiary hearing, finding that Witthar’s “bare, conclusory allegations” did not entitle her to relief. The Eighth Circuit reversed. Because Witthar’s allegations, if true, amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel, there was a factual dispute on a critical issue
Court Description: Per Curiam - Before Wollman and Gruender, Circuit Judges, and Gritzner, District Judge] Prisoner case - habeas. The district court should have granted petitioner an evidentiary hearing where she made a sufficient allegation of ineffective assistance and all the court had before it were conflicting sworn statements from petitioner and her counsel as to whether petitioner had asked him to file a notice of appeal following her conviction and sentencing. Judge Gruender, concurring.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.