1980, Flippins was convicted of four felony counts involving forgery, credit card fraud, theft, and receiving stolen property.  In 1982, he was convicted of one count of forgery and one count as a persistent felony offender in the first degree under Kentucky law.  The 1971 felonies and the 1980 felonies each serve as one felony conviction for the purposes of Kentucky's persistent offender statute.  If the 1971 felony were vacated his present sentence would be reduced because only one prior felony conviction would remain and thus he would be only a second-degree persistent felon.


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On or about June 22, 1983, proceeding pro se, Flippins filed the petition for writ of error coram nobis on which he now appeals to this court.  Three months later, afteruninformed of the particulars of the case, but also that the attorney then failed to inform himself adequately.  If Flippins' allegations are true, his court-appointed attorney coerced a guilty plea and otherwise silenced the petitioner.  Without undertaking even the slightest investigation, the attorney concluded that Flippins had no defense to the charges.  Having told his client to plead guilty, he then told him not to speak to the judge, who he characterized as intolerant and inaccessible to defendants.  The attorney then explained that through personal contact with his "old friend the judge," he would get Flippins a suspended sentence.  Following the hearing, the attorney promised to investigate the validity of Flippins' 1969 state conviction, upon which two of the 1971 counts were based.