Opinion ID: 2976580
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defendant’s Evidentiary Hearing Claim

Text: No. 06-1889 Hussein Amr v. United States of America Page 8 Defendant’s second argument is that the court should have held an evidentiary hearing to determine the validity of Defendant’s claim that there was an oral offer made to his attorney and that he was not made aware of that offer in a timely fashion. Defendant argues that when there is a factual dispute in an ineffective assistance of counsel case, the habeas court must hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the validity of Petitioner’s claim. As there was a dispute in Defendant’s case regarding whether an oral offer was ever made by the Government, Defendant claims the district court was required to hold an evidentiary hearing, and that its decision not to hold such a hearing was an abuse of its discretion. A district court’s denial of an evidentiary hearing regarding a prisoner’s § 2255 motion is reviewed under the abuse of discretion standard. This court has held that when a factual dispute arises in a § 2255 motion, the habeas court must hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the truth of the petitioner’s claims unless the record conclusively shows that the petitioner is entitled to no relief. Valentine v. United States, 488 F.3d 325, 333 (6th Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 128 S.Ct. 1311(2008) (emphasis added). Stated another way, the court is not required to hold an evidentiary hearing if the petitioner’s allegations cannot be accepted as true because they are contradicted by the record, inherently incredible, or conclusions rather than statements of fact. Id. Here, the record refuted Defendant’s factual allegations, thus making an evidentiary hearing unnecessary. As previously stated, the record before the district court consisted of a brief from the Government stating that it never made an oral offer to Defendant’s attorney, and a declaration by Defendant’s attorney stating that he never received an oral offer from the Government. This information clearly contradicts Defendant’s claim that an oral offer was “on the table.” Moreover, No. 06-1889 Hussein Amr v. United States of America Page 9 there is nothing in the record to indicate that Defendant would have been able to prove his allegations at an evidentiary hearing. He has not identified any evidence, other than his own testimony, that he could present to support his claim.5 As such, the district court was correct to deny an evidentiary hearing to Defendant. Defendant’s Due Process Claim In Defendant’s due process claim, he argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for reconsideration on procedural and substantive grounds. Defendant claims that the district court miscalculated the time period for filing a motion for reconsideration and therefore should not have denied Defendant’s motion on procedural grounds. Defendant also claims that he presented a “palpable defect by which the court and parties had been misled and also demonstrated that correcting the defect would have resulted in a different disposition of the case.” (Appellant’s brief 21.) Therefore, his motion should not have been denied. 5 It should be noted that Defendant submitted an affidavit to the district court to support his claim that there was an oral offer made by the Government. In the affidavit, Defendant states that after closing arguments, his attorney informed him that the government had made an offer “but that it was not in writing and he was not therefore obligated to communicate that offer to [Defendant].” (J.A. 101.) Defendant also states that he talked to his attorney’s supervisor, and she acknowledged that his attorney “had confessed to her that there was a verbal offer made and that he did not disclose that offer to [Defendant].” (J.A. 101.) Defendant’s affidavit, however, was not before the district court when it was deciding Defendant’s § 2255 motion, nor was it before the court when it was deciding Defendant’s motion to reconsider its § 2255 judgment. Defendant’s affidavit was filed on June 13, 2006, months after the court’s denial of his § 2255 motion on March 29, 2006, and days after its denial of Defendant’s motion to reconsider on June 9, 2006. Nevertheless, even if the district court had the affidavit before it, it would not change the fact that the only evidence Defendant would be able to proffer at a hearing would be his own testimony. Defendant has identified no other evidence, and there is no indication that his attorney or the Federal Public Defender would testify on his behalf. No. 06-1889 Hussein Amr v. United States of America Page 10 Defendant’s contention is flawed because he is arguing a claim he was not authorized to present on appeal. Appellate review of a petitioner’s § 2255 motion is limited to those issues specified in the certificate of appealability (COA). See Dunham v. United States, 486 F.3d 931, 934 (6th Cir. 2007); Seymour v. Walker 224 F.3d 542, 561 (6th Cir. 2000). The district court granted Defendant a COA to appeal “his constitutional contention that LR Mich.7.1(g)(1) is a violation of his due process rights.” (J.A. 105.) The court permitted the COA in regards to Defendant’s argument that “unrepresented prisoners cannot meet the 10 day requirement for filing a motion for reconsideration due to, inter alia, the existing restrictive conditions at the federal correctional institution where [Defendant] is currently housed.” (J.A. 105.) Here, on appeal, Defendant is making a different argument. Although he states at the outset that he believes local court rule LR Mich.7.1.(g)(1) violates his right to due process, he does not state anywhere in his brief how it violates his due process rights, let alone how the rule adversely applies to inmates. Instead, Defendant argues that “the district court abused its discretion in denying his Motion for Reconsideration on procedural and substantive grounds.” (Appelant’s brief 17.) The issue of whether the court abused its discretion in denying Defendant’s motion for reconsideration is not the issue he was granted authority to appeal by the district court. As such, this Court is without authority to reach the merits of Defendant’s argument.