Forsyth v. Spencer

Filing 920100216

Opinion

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var WPFootnote1 = 'The prosecutor said the following: \
\
              Although I have no specific memory of ever mentioning\
three to five years as a possible sentence, during\
preliminary negotiations I may have offered to try to get\
a three to five year sentence on an agreed plea. I never\
secured this recommendation by my office because the\
defendant made clear that he would not join in a\
sentencing recommendation.\
'

var WPFootnote2 = 'Forsyth\'s new counsel had no personal knowledge of what\
happened incident to the guilty plea but she stated, in an\
accompanying affidavit of her own, that Forsyth\'s plea counsel had\
told her that in the December 19 lobby conference "the Commonwealth\
recommended a three to five year term and that the Court appeared\
amenable to a House of Correction term followed by probation."\
'

var WPFootnote3 = 'The petition is governed by the Antiterrorism and Effective\
Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA"). Rashad v. Walsh, 300 F.3d 27,\
34 (1st Cir. 2002). A different provision of the statute requires\
clear and convincing evidence from the petitioner in order to\
defeat a state court factual finding, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1), but\
we need not consider whether this standard applies because we find\
that Forsyth cannot prevail even under the arguably less\
deferential section 2254(d)(2) standard. Wood v. Allen, No. 08-9156, 2010 WL 173369, at *6 & n.2 (U.S. Jan. 20, 2010); see John v.\
Russo, 561 F.3d 88, 92 (1st Cir. 2009); Teti v. Bender, 507 F.3d\
50, 56-60 (1st Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 128 S. Ct. 1719 (2008). \
'

var WPFootnote4 = 'See Knight v. United States, 37 F.3d 769, 775 (1st Cir. 1994)\
("[A]n inaccurate prediction about sentencing will generally not\
alone be sufficient to sustain a claim of ineffective assistance of\
counsel."); United States v. Pallotta, 433 F.2d 594, 595 (1st Cir.\
1970) ("[A] mere prediction by counsel of the court\'s likely\
attitude on sentence, short of some implication of an agreement or\
understanding, is not ground for attacking a plea." (internal\
quotation marks omitted)).\
'

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