Source: http://va.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20150323_0000334.EVA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-12-16 14:55:32
Document Index: 354620260

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 846', '§ 924', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2255']

ANTOINE JEFFREY FURLOW, Petitioner,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent. Criminal No. 4:11cr89
This matter is before the Court on Antoine Jeffrey Furlow's ("Petitioner") Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255.[1] Petitioner's § 2255 motion advances several arguments asserting that trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance. Having considered the briefs and record, the Court finds that an evidentiary hearing is necessary only as to Petitioner's claim that he asked his lawyer to file an appeal and his lawyer refused. As to all other claims, for the reasons set forth below, Petitioner's § 2255 motion is DENIED.
Petitioner and numerous co-conspirators were named in a multi-count indictment charging a drug trafficking conspiracy, as well as other associated crimes. ECF No. 716. Pursuant to a written plea agreement, Petitioner pled guilty to the drug trafficking conspiracy, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(C), and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). Petitioner was later sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 117 months, consisting of 57 months on the drug trafficking count, and 60 months consecutive on the firearm count. Such sentence represented the low-end of the advisory Guideline range.
Subsequent to sentencing, Petitioner did not file a direct appeal of his conviction or his sentence. He did, however, timely file the instant § 2255 motion. The Government filed a brief in opposition to such motion and Petitioner subsequently filed a "Motion for Summary Judgment in Opposition to Respondent's Answer, " which this Court construes as a reply brief in support of Petitioner's § 2255 motion.[2] The instant matter is therefore ripe for review.
A federal prisoner, in custody, may collaterally attack his sentence or conviction by moving the district court "to vacate, set aside or correct the sentence." 28 U.S.C. § 2255(a). To obtain such relief, a petitioner bears the burden of proving that his sentence or conviction was "imposed inviolation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, " that the district court "was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, " that the sentence exceeds "the maximum authorized by law, " or that the sentence or conviction is "otherwise subject to collateral attack." Id . A petitioner must prove the asserted grounds for relief by a preponderance of the evidence. Miller v. United States, 261 F.2d 546, 547 (4th Cir. 1958). Because a § 2255 motion "is ordinarily presented to the judge who presided at the original conviction and sentencing... the judge's recollection of the events at issue" may inform the resolution of the motion. Blackledge v. Allison, 431 U.S. 63, 74 n.4 (1977).
A § 2255 motion is, inessence, a statutory federal habeas corpus action that collaterally attacks a sentence or conviction through the filing of a new proceeding, as contrasted with a direct appeal. United States v. Hadden, 475 F.3d 652, 663 (4th Cir. 2007). The existence of the right to pursue a collateral attack does not displace a direct appeal as the "usual and customary method of correcting trial errors." United States v. Allgood, 48 F.Supp.2d 554, 558 (E.D. Va. 1999). Although a petitioner advancing new claims asserted for the first time in a § 2255 motion must generally "clear a significantly higher hurdle than would exist on direct appeal" United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 166 (1981), a freestanding claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is properly asserted for the first time in a § 2255 motion. See United States v. King, 119 F.3d 290, 295 (4th Cir. 1997) ("[I]t is well settled that va claim of ineffective assistance should be raised in a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion in the district court rather than on direct appeal, unless the record conclusively shows ineffective assistance.'" (quoting United States v. Williams, 977 F.2d 866, 871 (4th Cir. 1992))). Such rule exists because the Federal Rules Governing § 2255 Proceedings permit expansion of the record, which is generally unavailable on direct appeal and often necessary to properly resolve an ineffective assistance claim. United States v. Baptiste, 596 F.3d 214, 216 n.l (4th Cir. 2010) (citing Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500, 504-06, (2003)).
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides that "the accused shall enjoy the right... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence." U.S. Const, amend. VI. The Supreme Court has interpreted the right to counsel as providing a defendant "the right to the effective assistance of counsel.'" Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 686 (1984) (quoting McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 n.14 (1970)) (emphasis added). To obtain relief based on an allegation of ineffective assistance, a petitioner must establish both that: (1) counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness; and (2) counsel's inadequate performance caused the petitioner prejudice. Id. at 687-88. "[U]nsubstantiated and largely conclusory statements" are insufficient to carry a petitioner's burden as to the two prongs of the Strickland test. United States v. Turcotte, 405 F.3d 515, 537 (7th Cir. 2005).
When evaluating counsel's performance under the first prong of Strickland, courts "must be highly deferential." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689; see Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 381-82 (1986) (discussing the "highly demanding" Strickland standard). To establish constitutionally deficient performance, a petitioner must demonstrate that his lawyer "made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel' guaranteed... by the Sixth Amendment." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687. Such a showing must go beyond establishing that counsel's performance was below average, since "effective representation is not synonymous with errorless representation." Springer v. Collins, 586 F.2d 329, 332 (4th Cir. 1978); see Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687. As it is all too easy to challenge an act, omission, or strategy, once it has proven unsuccessful, "every effort [must] be made to eliminate the distorting effects of hindsight, to reconstruct the circumstances of counsel's challenged conduct, and to evaluate the conduct from counsel's perspective at the time." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689. Courts should therefore "indulge a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance." Id.
The second prong of Strickland requires a petitioner to "affirmatively prove prejudice, " which requires a showing that "there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 693-94. "A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome." Id. at 694. If the petitioner fails to prove either of the two prongs of the Strickland test, the Court need not evaluate the other prong of the test. United States v. Roane, 378 F.3d 382, 404 (4th Cir. 2004).
Petitioner's § 2255 motion alleges that defense counsel provided ineffective assistance by: (1) failing to demand that the Government stipulate to a specific drug weight; (2) failing to object to the denial of a Guideline credit for acceptance of responsibility; (3) failing to review the Presentence Investigative Report ("PSR"); (4) failing to challenge the firearm in furtherance count; and (5) failing to file a direct appeal. As set forth below, Petitioner's first four arguments are DENIED on the merits. As to ...