instruction:
In this task, you will be shown a prompt from a judicial decision and multiple holding statements derived from citations following text in a legal decision.  Holdings represent the governing legal rule when the law is applied to a particular set of facts. There are five answer choices for each citing text. The correct answer is the holding statement that corresponds to the citing text. The four incorrect answers are other holding statements. You should find the correct option. There is a <HOLDING> token in the position of the citing text prompt where the holding statement was extracted.
question:
in original). With the possible exception of his claim that he was not permitted to testify, Man-giardi has not satisfied either prong of the Strickland test. Because each of Mangiardi’s claims relating to the proceedings is meritless, appellate counsel was not unreasonable for any failure to raise any of them on direct appeal. See Williams, 166 F.Supp.2d at 305 (finding that where each of the claims raised in the defendant’s § 2255 motion was meritless, appellate counsel was not deficient for failing to raise them on direct appeal). The same reasoning applies to appellate counsel’s failure to raise Man-giardi’s claims for ineffective assistance of trial counsel. See id., James v. Superintendent of SCI Huntington, No. CIV.A. 97-2864, 2000 WL 5196, at *3 (E.D.Pa. January 4, 2000) (<HOLDING>). Moreover, as discussed above, claims for 
 Holding statements: (A) holding that counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to raise a meritless claim (B) holding that where trial counsel was not ineffective appellate counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise claim of ineffectiveness of trial counsel (C) recognizing a constitutional claim for ineffective assistance of counsel (D) holding no ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim for failure to raise as basis for appeal of conviction ineffective assistance of trial counsel where basis for the latter claim was inadequate (E) holding trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to pursue a meritless issue
answer:
(B)


question:
of a class consisting of all African-American plant employees. Accordingly, the district court acted within its discretion to deny class certification on the basis of the appellants’ direct evidence. B. Statistical Evidence Nucor provided the appellants with actual promotion-related job posting and applicant data from January 2001 to February 2006. According to the appellants’ own expert, statistical analysis of this data resulted in a standard deviation of - .84, a result indicating no statistically significant disparity in the actual versus expected percentage of African-American employees successfully bidding on jobs. J.A. 5872-73. The appellants, however, objected to use of the 2001 to 2006 time period because it included job posting and bidding 759 n. 17 (4th Cir.1986) (<HOLDING>). Since the appellants could not prevail based 
 Holding statements: (A) recognizing that the federal pleading standard is a less stringent standard than the delaware pleading standard (B) recognizing that differences between the expected value and the observed number greater than two or three standard deviations are significant (C) recognizing the cause of action (D) recognizing cause of action (E) recognizing that a standard deviation greater than two or three excludes chance as the cause of underrepresentation
answer:
(E)


question:
As mentioned above, he would first fill the jury box, then excuse jurors for cause, and replace them with jurors next in line. Hr’g Tr. vol. 1 at 26-27. This method results in spectator benches being emptied sequentially from front to back. Thus had spectators been allowed back into the courtroom, they could have been seated in empty benches in front of the remaining venirepersons, rather than “among” the venire. Spectators might, therefore, have filled those benches, bench by bench, sitting no closer to the venire than the bench occupied by Mrs. Bucci, Mrs. Keefe, and Mrs. Jordan. Still, admitting spectators bench by bench as benches became vacant would greatly have increased the risk of inappropriate interaction between the venire and the spectators. Moreover A.2d 968 (1994) (<HOLDING>); Davidson v. State, 591 So.2d 901, 902-903 
 Holding statements: (A) holding that it was unreasonable for officers to break down doors that they already knew were open (B) holding that the defendant is not entitled to be sentenced by the judge who took his plea when the judge made no promise to sentence him (C) holding that no closure occurred where judge locked doors to ensure jury would not be distracted (D) holding that it would not be unreasonable to find condition in hotel lunchroom unsafe because invitee would be distracted (E) holding that no closure occurred when judge did not allow anyone to enter or leave courtroom during jury instructions
answer:

(C)