United States v. Scott, 10th Cir. (1998)

F I L E D
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

TENTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit
DEC 15 1998
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
No. 98-6261
(D. Ct. No. CIV-97-717-T)
(W.D. Okla.)
WALLIE A. SCOTT,
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Before TACHA, MCKAY, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this three-judge panel
has determined unanimously that oral argument would not be of material
assistance in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th
Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Defendant Scott appeals pro se an order of the district court denying a
motion to vacate, set aside, or correct defendants federal sentence pursuant to the
provisions of 28 U.S.C. 2255. This matter is before this court on defendants
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. This court generally disfavors the
citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under
the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
*
application for a certificate of appealability and motion to proceed in forma

pauperis under the provisions of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty
Act (AEDPA). Defendant was originally sentenced after a jury trial and
conviction on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine
base and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. At that time,
defendants retained counsel did not perfect an appeal. Defendant then filed a pro
se 2255 petition claiming ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to perfect
the appeal. The district court granted the petition, appointed new counsel, and
after further proceedings, resentenced Mr. Scott to the same sentence originally
imposed. The conviction and sentence was affirmed by this court. See United
States v. Scott, No. 92-6272, 1993 WL 411596, at *8 (10th Cir. Oct. 8, 1993)
(unpublished opinion). Defendant then filed this 2255 petition. The district
court referred the petition to this court, seeking a ruling on whether its filing
constituted a second or successive filing pursuant to the provisions of the
AEDPA. This court held that it did not and remanded the matter to the district
court; see United States v. Scott, 124 F.3d 1328, 1330 (10th Cir. 1997). Upon
remand, the district court denied the petition. On appeal, the defendant
challenges the denial of that petition.
Defendant alleges on appeal: (1) that he was denied effective assistance of
trial counsel for the failure of the trial counsel to obtain an independent lab
-2-
analysis of the controlled substances involved; (2) ineffective assistance of

appellate counsel for failing to raise the ineffective assistance of trial counsel
issue in the direct appeal of the conviction; and (3) improper sentencing based on
possession of cocaine base rather than crack cocaine.
We decline to issue the certificate of appealability and further decline to
grant in forma pauperis status to defendant. The record in this case contains the
testimony of the governments chemist, who stated that the substance found in
defendants possession at the time of his arrest was cocaine. There is further
testimony in the record by defendant with regard to his use of crack cocaine and
his intent to purchase crack cocaine. Under these circumstances, the district court
was under no duty to hold a separate evidentiary hearing with regard to the failure
of trial counsel to obtain an independent lab analysis to challenge the
governments evidence with regard to the cocaine at issue. We hold that the
district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to order such an evidentiary
hearing. Further, this same testimony shows that trial counsels alleged errors did
not fall below any objective standard of reasonableness as required in Strickland
v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 688 (1984). Additionally, defendant has failed to
show any prejudice to his defense as a result of the failure of trial counsel. See
id. at 691.
We further find that defendant has failed to show that appellate counsel
-3-
was ineffective because she failed to raise the ineffectiveness of trial counsel as a
basis for appeal. The law of this circuit is clear that ineffective assistance of
counsel claims brought on direct appeal are presumptively dismissible, and
virtually all will be dismissed. United States v. Galloway, 56 F.3d 1239, 1240
(10th Cir. 1995). Thus, appellate counsels decision not to raise the
ineffectiveness claim with regard to trial counsel is clearly not an unreasonable
exercise of professional judgment. We further agree with the district court that
there is no merit to plaintiffs contention that he was improperly sentenced
because of the nature of the substance he possessed.
We find that defendant has failed to raise issues that are debatable among
jurists, that a court could resolve the issues differently, or that the questions
deserve further proceedings. United States v. Sistrunk, 111 F. 3d 91, 91 (10th
Cir. 1997). We deny the certificate of appealability. We deny the motion to
proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to the provisions of Fed. R. App. P. 24. The
appeal is dismissed.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT,
Deanell Reece Tacha
Circuit Judge
-4-

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F I L E D

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

United States Court of Appeals

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

application for a certificate of appealability and motion to proceed in forma

analysis of the controlled substances involved; (2) ineffective assistance of

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