Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-02324/USCOURTS-ca8-03-02324-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
United States of America
Appellee
Oscar Curtis Wilson
Appellant

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Donald E. O’Brien, United States District Judge for the

Northern District of Iowa.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-2324

___________

Oscar Curtis Wilson, *

*

Appellant, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the

v. * Northern District of Iowa.

*

United States of America, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellee. *

___________

Submitted: April 7, 2004

Filed: April 23, 2004

___________

Before BYE, McMILLIAN, and RILEY, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Oscar Wilson appeals the district court’s1

 denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255

motion to vacate his drug-conspiracy conviction following a jury trial. The district

court granted a certificate of appealability on Wilson’s claims that trial counsel was

ineffective. We affirm.

Appellate Case: 03-2324 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/23/2004 Entry ID: 1760057 
-2-

We agree with the district court that Wilson’s trial counsel adequately crossexamined government witnesses, using available evidence to impeach their

credibility; and that counsel adequately investigated, declining to call one witness for

reasonable strategic reasons. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 694

(1984) (to establish ineffective-assistance claim, movant must show deficient

representation that prejudiced his case); Graham v. Dormire, 212 F.3d 437, 440 (8th

Cir. 2000) (reasonable trial strategy does not constitute ineffective assistance). We

also agree with the district court that Wilson did not show he was prejudiced by

counsel’s failure to call two additional witnesses, or by counsel’s advice to Wilson

not to testify on his own behalf. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694 (to establish

prejudice, defendant must show reasonable probability that outcome of trial would

have been different).

Accordingly, we grant Wilson’s motions to amend his brief, we affirm the

judgment of the district court, and we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 03-2324 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/23/2004 Entry ID: 1760057