The opinion
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 14-4517
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
ANTHONY BROWN,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. T. S. Ellis, III, Senior
District Judge. (1:03-cr-00612-TSE-1)
Submitted: February 27, 2015 Decided: May 6, 2015
Before GREGORY, DUNCAN, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Vacated and remanded with instructions by unpublished per curiam
opinion.
Joseph J. McCarthy, DELANEY, MCCARTHY & COLTON, P.C.,
Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Dana J. Boente, United
States Attorney, Morris R. Parker, Jr., Assistant United States
Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Anthony Brown appeals from the district court’s order
denying his motion to rescind his plea agreement and withdraw
his guilty plea. We vacate the order and remand with directions
to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the motion.
We conclude that the existing record does not permit us to
properly perform our appellate review function and signals for
an evidentiary hearing so that the district court can make an
informed determination upon a properly developed record. We
have always declined to create a rigid rule that would override
a district court’s “common sense and sound discretion” when
determining whether an evidentiary hearing must be held.
Raines v. United States, 423 F.2d 526, 530 (4th Cir. 1970)
(considering a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion challenging the
voluntariness of a guilty plea). However, where the
circumstances necessitate an evidentiary hearing to fairly
resolve the issues presented and provide an adequate record for
appellate review, we have required such a hearing. For these
reasons, the district court should hold an evidentiary hearing
in order to develop an adequate record upon which a fully
informed adjudication of Brown’s motion can be conducted and a
proper appellate review of any judgment may be performed. We
express no opinion on the merits of the motion based on the
record before us.
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Accordingly, the order of the district court is hereby
vacated and remanded with direction to conduct an evidentiary
hearing on Brown’s motion. We deny Brown’s motions to expedite
the appeal as moot. We dispense with oral argument because the
facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before this court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
VACATED AND REMANDED
WITH INSTRUCTIONS
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